Ice and Stone
by stealyourfood
Summary: After the war, the Kingdom of Crypton segregated the nobles from the other civilians. Luka who is one of the many orphans stranded in the outskirts, finds herself in the worst situation ever imaginable. (sucky summary orz) Character deaths. Eventual Negitoro.
1. Chapter 1

**I found this story that I had half written wayyy back in 2010, and I thought, hey, why not? Let's edit it and try to complete it! (that said I have absolutely no idea how this will turn out)  
While there seems to be an element of hunger games in it, I assure you I had never read hunger games back then. But anyways…**

**Summary: After the war, the Kingdom of Crypton segregated the nobles from the other civilians. Luka who is one of the many orphans stranded in the outskirts, finds herself in the worst situation ever imaginable.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters. Any similarity to any events, books, people, animals, vocaloids, are coincidences.**

**Ehh, without any further ado, let's begin!  
**

* * *

**Ice and Stone**

The snow fell gently from the sky, floating down to settle on charred buildings and lonely streets. The white blankets covered everything and everyone. Some were in deep sleep, some were alive. For now.

Nestled in between two buildings, or what used to be buildings, were three figures huddled together in an alley. The first one to awake was a pink haired girl, who blinked sleepily before the harsh coldness stung her.

"Snow?" She mumbled, her cold hands coming into contact with even colder slush. She was thankful that the snow had been falling slowly. It probably piled up at night when they were sleeping. Beside her lay a girl with short brown hair, and a boy with long purple hair. Unlike her, they were late risers. The longer they lay there, the less alive they looked. Luka stood up slowly, the cold numbing her bones. She gritted her teeth and shook her two companions.

"Whazatime?" The brunette mumbled, and sat up slowly, her eyes opening in surprise as she noticed her surroundings.

"Is it winter already?" The purple haired teen rose, brushing the snow off his ragged, worn out clothes.

"Yeah, it's been how long?"

"Almost a year." The brunette replied. They were the oldest of their small group here, one of the many groups scattered around the ruined city. There was only one building left untouched by the war. A castle towered above the ruins, far away from where the trio was. A wall separated the nobles and the royalty from the 'vermin'.

"So, shall we go look for food?"

"Gakupo, it's winter. The only place we can look for food…" The pinkette swallowed, not wanting to go near that place.

"The dump." Gakupo replied. His voice was steady and firm, but he was quivering inside. The dump was close to the castle. Too close for comfort.

"Look, they played their sick game yesterday. Today should be fine." The brunette trooped off, her fists clenched tight in fear and anger.

"What makes you think they'll take a break for a day? You never know how the nobles are! The last time we went to the dump out of desperation…" The pinkette trailed off, her already dry throat threatening to crack.

"Luka, calm down, nothing is going to happen." The brunette insisted, but she had stopped in her tracks.

"L-let's just go, alright? The kids need food. If we don't get food, who's going to? I don't want them to be the ones going to the dumps." Gakupo said. "Meiko, Luka. Let's go."

In the merciless weather, the three teens trudged along the rubble, their tracks soon covered by the constantly falling snow.

* * *

5 shots rang out in the distance. It was too early, too fast, too…

"Good." Gakupo muttered, licking his dry lips. "I'm sorry about the five… or six of them, but this means we won't get caught."

Meiko rolled her eyes, and Luka sighed.

"They still have bored guards patrolling the walls. Those guards can shoot, and will shoot." Luka reminded Gakupo, aware of the scar on her lower left back. It had just been a graze, but it served as a good enough reminder for her.

"We'll be careful." Gakupo firmly walked on, a long stretch of white coldness before them. Ahead, the castle towered above the ruins, the only unscathed building. The walls surrounding the castle were thick and tall, too high to climb, and even if by some miracle, one scaled it, one would never make it out alive. Few did. However, at the back of the castle, there was an opening for at least 5 people to squeeze in. Once in, people would find heaps of rubbish, trash, leftovers, and more for scavenging.

Sometimes 4 people went in and 3 came out. Sometimes 3 people went in and 4 came out. And sometimes no one came out at all.

The three of them walked on for 15 more minutes, and reached the stone walls. Stone walls their parents might have built. Stone walls that protected the rich only. Stone walls that were a sign that the nobles were afraid of the outside world. Stone walls that imprisoned those lucky enough to be born out of poverty.

She had been tasked with food collection a few times already, but Meiko was still in awe of the great wall standing before her. At the same time, she couldn't stop the bubbling anger and kicked it angrily.

"They're so selfish! It's not fair!" Meiko hissed, and winced as her knuckles came into contact with the wall.

"Meiko, food." Gakupo placed a hand on Meiko's shoulder. He didn't want to be near the castle for long.

Meiko clenched her fist and charged towards the only entrance open to them. The smell of rotting meat, excretion, metal, and death greeted them. If they weren't careful, they would join the rotting pile. They dashed towards the pile, hoping that no guards were on duty yet, and dived behind the mountain of trash quickly.

The ice on the ground bit into their skin, and they hastened their search for food. Gakupo shivered as he dug his hand into the pile, feeling around. Meiko was trying to differentiate the food from trash, and Luka was peering cautiously into the dumpster.

"Meiko… Gakupo…" Luka whispered, her stomach clenching, feeling sick at what she saw.

"It's …"

"Yes." Luka swallowed, ignoring the head, bruised and frozen. It seemed that Yuuma, one of the oldest boys in their area, had survived, and at the same time, he had not. His distinct pink hair was the only recognizable feature.

Luka had to find food, this was not her concern. It was however, a fear. She could end up like Yuuma if she wasn't careful enough.

"I found half a chicken!" Gakupo whispered excitedly and Meiko scowled.

"They really know how to waste good food." The brunette grumbled as she dug through the rotting junk. A few shots fired near them, and all three of them jumped.

"Guys, I think we've stayed a little too long." Luka mumbled, and they all tried to stuff whatever food they found into their torn clothes. The guards were bored but not all of them were out to kill, they had to do their job. Sometimes some guards would fire near the trash pile as a warning more than a threat. Luka took a deep breath, almost regretting it when she smelt the rotting bodies and thought of Yuuma again.

The gunfire stopped, and three figures dashed across the dirty snow, leaving temporary tracks that would only be covered up by the merciless snow.

Luka almost crashed into the wall but recovered and squirmed through the hole.

"That was close." Meiko stood up shakily beside her, pulling Gakupo up.

"Yeah, let's hurry back, I don't want to stay here any longer." Gakupo started to run, kicking up snow as his bare feet touched the ground.

Gunfire exploded near them, and Luka instinctively pushed Meiko away. A few cold potatoes tumbled out of her jacket. She gasped but ignored them and started running blindly. Her long pink hair would attract the enemy more than Meiko's brown hair. She swore inwardly, making a mental note to cut her hair later.

'Why the hell are we being chased? I thought the last round ended not long ago?' Luka gasped, turning around a torn down school, jumping over the rubble and stumbled as she landed roughly. Behind her, she could hear the steady sound of slush meeting boots, and she ducked behind a couple of concrete pillars. From the corner of her eye, she saw Gakupo, oblivious as ever, walking in clear view. The soldier, dressed in a full black uniform was about to turn the corner and see Gakupo. If she made any noise, the soldier could possibly shoot both of them down. But if she didn't…

The soldier turned abruptly, stunning Gakupo, who fell down in shock.

"Pity, I was looking for the girl." The soldier sneered, and Gakupo gritted his teeth, waiting for the worst.

"Come on, don't delay." The soldier pulled Gakupo up by the front of his tattered shirt, and Luka jumped out, screaming as she landed a solid punch on the soldier's back.

Gakupo was dropped and Luka remembered shouting for him to run before she received a kick to the face and blacked out.

* * *

"Gentlemen, I present to you, for the first time in a long while, two games in a day!"

A voice rang out, and Luka blinked, her vision fuzzy. Where was she?

She closed her eyes, her head throbbing. Oh, right, she had tried to save Gakupo without thinking. She hoped he was fine. Her arms felt limp, and she barely had time to register anything before someone splashed her with water.

She gasped, and looked around, fully awake now. The water was cold, but not as cold as the weather outside. Wait, outside? She looked around again, noticing that she was in some sort of cage. Rusty metal bars separated her from what appeared to be a mob of men – no wait, they were nobles. Their clothing was a far cry from what Luka was used to seeing. Coats and scarfs and jackets all keeping them warm. There was a metal door leading to the outside; Luka could feel the cold air seeping through the top of the metal door. The floor was very, very red, and Luka knew that that was not rust or paint.

Apart from the men and herself, she was not alone. There was some announcer with blond hair, no, not one, but two. They looked remarkably similar, both around the same height and having innocent blue eyes. They were dressed better than her; one in suspenders and brown trousers, a light brown jacket and a cap, the other was in a similar outfit except this one's hair was tied up in a small ponytail. Luka realized that they were twins, and shifted her attention to the others.

She was the one closest to the door, and beside her were 5 other individuals. A black haired boy who looked much younger than her was shivering and sobbing, clutching onto a white haired boy beside him. Both looked petrified and confused, much like the other three.

Luka's eyes widened when she saw the one standing in front – he had long purple hair streaked with blood, and he was slowly getting up.

Her throat hurt, her head hurt, and she didn't know what was happening. All she knew was that what she did, her struggle, was for nothing. She fixed her eye on the two blondes darting around – how could they be so cheerful in a hellish place?

"Alright, gentlemen, if you've finished placing your bets!" The second blonde shouted, straining his voice to catch the attention of the rowdy adults. The first blonde was busy collecting coins and tickets, grinning as he or she skipped back to join the other blonde.

The second blonde fidgeted, taking out a black box and opening it slowly, making sure that the audience would see what he would take out.

"Today's weapon of choice is a revolver! The bullets have been loaded by our princess herself!"

The first blonde jumped forward and walked past Luka and the other contestants, pulling them up to their feet.

"We shall proceed in a sensible order!" _She_ chirped, and her brother threw the pistol over.

She pointed the gun at Gakupo's forehead, and the audience hushed immediately.

"Should I pull the trigger, or do you want to do it?"

As much as she wanted to run over and wrench the gun out of the blonde's hands and just shoot every noble in the room, Luka couldn't. Her feet won't move, her hands won't move, and she was vaguely aware that she had been shaking since some time ago.

"Round 1!" The blonde boy announced, and Luka cried as she heard the bullet pierce through Gakupo's skull, cried as she heard a choked scream from Gakupo.

She heard Gakupo's body fall onto the ground, and heard the disappointed grunts of the audience. She heard how they called Gakupo a 'wasted bet'.

The blonde took a step closer, repeating her actions, and Luka didn't care anymore.

The second body fell, and the crowd jeered. It was sickening, how they saw this as a game. How they derived entertainment from it. How they played with lives.

The third, the fourth bodies fell, and Luka felt panic rising in her again.

The black haired boy beside her muttered something and the blonde passed him the gun, whispering something that Luka couldn't quite catch.

He pointed the pistol at himself, and laughed as he shot himself in the head.

The crowd laughed, some cheered, and Luka felt all eyes on her.

"Any words from out last survivor?" The girl looked at her, and her eyes were pleading. Pleading what? Did it matter? Luka was going to die anyways. She felt dead.

"Yeah," she managed to spurt out, licking her lips as she struggled to continue. She glared at as many of the men as she could, drawing a few whistles.

"You can all JUST GO TO HELL!" Luka screamed and a rock hit her.

"Now, now, gentlemen, let's not get rowdy before the game ends." The boy shouted again, his fists clenched tightly.

Luka felt the pistol kiss her forehead and she closed her eyes. The blonde's lips moved, repeating for the sixth time.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

**End of chapter 1**

**Author: Ahhh I'm sorry what was I thinking? It's like 3 am now, so this is evidently the quality I produce when I am sleep deprived.**

**Anyways, I hope to get feedback from you, so I'll know if I should continue this story or not.  
**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**After much procrastination I decided to update this story. Also, no one else dies in this chapter. Yay!**

**Also, thank you all for the reviews!**

**Warning: Violence and Coarse Language.**

**Ice and Stone**

**Chapter 2**

**Luka's POV**

_Where am I? _

"She's still sleeping"

_Who's that? _

"I won't call 'knocked out' sleeping though. "

"She's quite good looking."

"Shh! What if Miku hears you?"

"She won't be back so soon!"

_There's another person… This feels soft… And so comfortable, more comfortable than any snow pile…_

_!_

_More comfortable than any snow pile?_

I opened my eyes and a sudden pain shot through my head.

"Ow."

"Oh! You're awake!"  
"How are you feeling?"

"Is it too cold here?"

"Do you want another blanket?"

"You're in the infirmary by the way!"

My blurry vision focused on the two blobs before me, their faces hovering too close for comfort.

"Gah!" I hit my head as I jerked back, and the two of them yelped.

"Nonononono stop moving you'll hurt yourself!"

I gritted my teeth. No wonder their voices sounded so familiar!

"You! You're that boy from the shooting place!"

"I'm Len and that was the Arena." The blonde with a ponytail replied.

"I'm Rin!" The other blonde chirped.

"YOU! YOU SHOT ME!" I tried to get up but fell down again. My whole body ached, and I felt bruised all over.

"I shot you with air alright?" Rin sighed. "Don't you remember anything?"

_Huh? Air? Oh wait, that's right…_

_**Flashback**_

"_I'm sorry" _

_Luka closed her eyes and could feel her heartbeat accelerating. Was this how it was going to end? Was this how it felt like before you died? She was too young to die. Why did this even have to happen?_

_The blonde tightened her hold on the trigger. Who knew how many bullets the princess loaded? Sometimes only 3 bullets were loaded, sometimes all 6 bullets were loaded. She looked at the pink haired teen. She was the first to actually shout at the nobles, something she respected. She was sure her brother also liked this girl. _

_However, she wasn't sure if she would survive. Even if the last bullet was not loaded, the nobles could possibly stone her to death. That was what happened to the other pink haired guy. He had been dragged around by the nobles, who kicked him so hard that he eventually died. They then decided it would be fun to cut up his body._

_Rin closed her eyes and pulled the trigger._

_An empty click._

_Luka opened her eyes, unsure of what just happened. A moment's silence, then the crowd erupted in rage and shock. Some cheered, but most of them were yelling and hurling vulgarities at her._

_That's right, she couldn't just die like that. She had people to take care of. Gumi, Piko and Miki were waiting for food. Meiko probably made it back. She just had to go back safely. She had so much to do, so-_

_A stone hit Luka's head and she flinched. The shock of the shooting numbed the pain, but she realised what was happening and attempted to run. More stones were flung at her, and she had nowhere to run. The gate was sealed, and the only exit led to the insides of the castle. She had strayed too close to the railings, and a noble grabbed her long hair violently, making her gasp as she finally registered pain._

_Before she could do anything, she was slapped with a meaty hand, then pushed down to the floor roughly. A volley of kicks and punches soon greeted her and she coughed out some blood. The nobles never stopped, and she felt as though her bones were shattering with each new blow. She could no longer move, and was helpless. From across her, she saw Gakupo's liveless body. He probably wanted her to fight back. He would have, if he was in her position. _

_Actually, he wouldn't. But Luka wasn't Gakupo._

_She grabbed onto a leg that was kicking her, and bit it hard, drawing blood even through the thick trousers. The noble screamed and kicked her away, making her land a little further than the railing, where no one could reach her. She spat out the blood and rose to her feet shakily._

"_Fuck you all!" She slurred, and slumped forward, caught by the two blondes before she crashed._

"_The princess arrives!" Luka heard someone shout, and the nobles fell silent._

_She looked up, seeing a girl with long teal hair and a teal dress, before fainting for the second time in a day._

_**End of flashback**_

_**Luka's POV**_

"Hello?"

I blink, a hand had been waving in front of me for some time.

"Y-yeah? Okay, fine, you didn't kill me, but you killed my friend! Where's Gakupo's body?"

"Which one is Gakupo?" Rin asked, and I realised how unimportant names, stories were in that terrible room. We weren't seen as humans with a background and a future, we were seen as livestock, as prey to kill.

"The first one to die." I whispered, and the other blonde, Len muttered an apology.

"Maybe the princess will grant you a favour, so that his body will be properly buried…" Rin trailed off, and I shake my head.

"I don't want any favours from her."

"But she saved you!" Rin exclaimed.

_Wait, what? Oh right, I guess there's a good reason why I'm clothed, dressed, have my wounds tended to, and lying in this comfortable bed with warm covers._

"Why would she do something like this?"

"Saving you or taking part in this?" Len questioned and I wasn't sure which one I had meant.

"I-" The door opened and the same girl I saw before, in teal, walked in with grace and arrogance.

"So you're up." She spoke, her voice a little high pitched, and it would sound pleasant if it wasn't for the fact that it sounded cold and disinterested.

"Miku." The two blondes greeted, and she nodded, a small smile gracing her otherwise expressionless face before turning back to me.

"What is your name?"

"What do you want with me?"

She slapped me so quickly I didn't even see it coming.

"Answer my question."

I glared at her, and was drawn into her teal eyes. You know what I said about her being expressionless? Screw that. Her eyes were full of energy and life. They were so mesmerizing I couldn't help but forget how to change a stare back into a glare.

"Staring is rude. If you have forgotten your name, I'll give you one."

No way would I want a new name.

"Luka. I'm Megurine Luka." I noticed how her eyed twinkled when she heard my answer.

"Excellent. I'm Hatsune Miku, Princess of the Crypton Kingdom, Heiress to the throne. Do well to remember that, Luka. From now on, you will be my bodyguard, as well as my escort."

"Escort?"

"Are you dumb?" She snorted. "Rin, Len, show her to Lily before bringing her to her room."

Great, now I'm being pushed around. And I'm the bodyguard of the Princess. This is the last thing I want. Apart from death, of course. I'll do whatever I can to survive here.

Miku turned around before leaving the room.

"I'll see you later, Luka."

I shivered as she spoke my name. She had purposely dragged the syllabuses out, and caressed my name in a way no one had. I was slowly being attracted to this princess, Stupid, stupid Luka._ She killed Gakupo, don't forget that._

"Wow, she's interested in you! She hardly calls people by their names!"

"Hardly? How about never, if you don't count us." Len coughed.

"Come on Luka! Are you well enough to walk? We have to bring you to Lily! She's a little loud and may seem scary but she's super nice! She's like a big sister to Len and I!"

"Oh yeah, Luka, did you know?" Len started, "Rin's a girl."

"Ye- WHAT?!" I almost tripped while trying to stand up.

"I just dress like a guy for safety!" Rin giggled, "Who did you think took care of you while you were unconscious?"

"T-thanks." I felt a little guilty at yelling for her.

I had a few questions for them, but that could wait. I didn't want to talk much now. My body still hurt and I was still wary of my surroundings.

We exited the infirmary and I found a long corridor that seemed to stretch on forever in front of me. Many doors decorated the corridor, and they were all so similar, I was surprised that people could differentiate them.

"These are all the different rooms for those who work with injuries!" Rin said, and skipped forward, Len calmly following her.

"This is basically the floor where most servants stay. We don't stay here and neither will you. You were brought here only because it was the closest place from the Arena." Len added.

"Yeah, we stay in a different section of the castle! We actually stay pretty near M- the princess because we're her personal servants, apart from running the … the games." Rin trailed off at the end.

"I see." I said. Did Rin feel guilty about killing people? Or was it something else?

"Come on, you don't want to get lost here. Rin did, once, and it was terrible." Len turned around, looking at me, and I quickened my pace.

"Yup, a whooole lot of nobles started picking on me, but luckily, the princess and Len turned up before I was killed. They thought I was someone from beyond the walls who wandered in."

I didn't understand how Rin could reply so happily, when she was almost killed. Maybe, maybe that's why she doesn't seem too happy about the shootings… Maybe that's why she apologized to each person before pulling the trigger. Because she knew how they felt. But what she said?

"Rin, we were from beyond the wall. Miku found us when she wandered out herself, then she dragged us back." Len rolled his eyes, and paused. "D-damnit, I meant princess!" he sputtered hurriedly, and stomped off in a huff.

Wait, Len and Rin are from beyond the wall? That means they went through what I did too? And why did Len correct himself? Can't they just address Miku as Miku? They did that too…

"Eheheh, I guess that's true. Hey, wait up, Len!" Rin chased after her brother, stopping right before a corner.

"Come on, Luka, we don't want you to get lost." She extended her smaller, calloused hand, and I ran towards her, biting back my tears.

**End of chapter 2**

**Author: Ahaha, this chapter was focused more on dropping hints about Rin and Len and also the introduction of Miku. Anyways I wanted to complete this before going for a convention, so if it seemed rushed, please pardon me! Orz**

**As usual, thanks for reading and I hope you'll leave a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Update! (**

**Hahahaha I was stricken by inspiration suddenly.**

**The convention was brilliant, I got myself a katana model and lots of badges! There were also quite a few vocaloid cosplayers ahahaha and all the cosplayers were cool! And I'm flat broke now ahaha. **

**Okay that's quite enough spazzing oops. Let's continue where we left off… (normal pov)**

**Ice and Stone**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Luka continued down the corridor, twisting here and there when the two blondes before her did. The castle was a confusing maze for her and she wondered if she would ever get used to it if she was staying as the princess's bodyguard. She would stay long enough to gain their trust, grab a ton of food and weapons if possible and other stuff and run to Meiko and the rest. Okay, maybe it won't be good to leave the castle, she would do better sneaking food and supplied to Meiko and the rest now and then.

She followed the twins up a flight of stairs, passing two maids who bowed to the twins. Rin waved back, grinning, while Len smiled. The two maids also bowed to Luka, after hestitatin for a while. Luka bowed back, a bit surprised at the special treatment. She was of a lower status than them – oh no, wait, she no longer was.

"Say," She started, and they paused.

"What exactly is my rank now? I have maids bowing to me, and I'm not really comfortable with that…"

Rin put a finger to her chin, thinking for a while.

"Well, you're not a servant, nor a soldier, you're definitely higher than that… you should be the same, or higher than us. We're royalty's _personal_ servants, and you're royalty's _personal_ escort. You should be a little higher than most nobles. You were hand-picked by the Princess herself, after all."

"And don't bow to anyone lower than you." Len finished, and Luka remembered what she just did.

"But I bowed back to the two maids just now…"

"Ah, but you bowed _back_. It's alright to reciprocate their actions as you deem fit. At our rank though, we don't have to bow to anyone except the Princess, and the King." Rin said.

"And some nobles." Len added, rolling his eyes.

Luka made a mental note of what they said. Even if she hated it here (oh, how it stunk of corruption), she needed to survive. She needed to do this for the rest of her friends still struggling in the wasted ruins.

"Why… why did the Princess choose me to be her bodyguard? I'm just someone who happened to be caught by the guards, I don't even know how to fight off a guard, how can she possibly have chosen me?"

"Who knows what's going through her mind. Don't worry, you'll get some training." Len replied, and Rin nodded. Luka sighed, the uneasiness in her heart still not quite dispelled. But there was no looking back now.

* * *

Lily was sitting in the training rooms alone, waiting for the new recruit. Honestly, she would have been having more fun outside with like-minded soldiers, discussing about trivial things like how terrible some nobles were, but the Princess just had orders for her. At least those soldiers and the princess didn't mind that she was the only female soldier, and a high ranking one at that. If she could, she would have knocked down every noble who doubted her. But she couldn't, so she would just take out all her anger and rage during sparring sessions. Luckily, nothing bad had happened yet, so she wasn't going to go all out on the new kid.

She stood up, twirling a wooden sword that was fairly heavy, and slashed through the air a couple of times. She had been informed that the newcomer was a newbie, so she couldn't use real weapons for now. The wooden sword felt flimsy and useless in her hand, and she longed to hold her own sword, a well-crafted Kriegschwert that cut through anything. Well, almost anything.

She swung the wooden blade down, and felt a little disappointed at the pathetic swoosh it made. The knock on the door almost startled her, and she regained her composure before answering.

"Enter!"

Len and Rin stepped in first, their faces full of excitement. Lily grinned at them, and her grin fell short and turned into a surprised 'o' as the newcomer stepped in.

Long pink hair was not what caught Lily's attention.

"She's a GIRL? No one ever tells me anything!" Lily exclaimed, and the twins started laughing.

Luka frowned, shifting her weight onto one leg. "You're a girl yourself, why the shock?"

Lily groaned, face palming. "No, it's just…" she sighed in defeat.

"So far Lily's the only girl fighter here!" Rin announced, and Lily scowled.

"Yeah, she's probably afraid you'll steal her spot as the only female warrior!" Len laughed and Lily whacked him playfully.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm Lily, Captain of the inner wall guards. Well, captain of the second division anyways. And yes, I'm the only female soldier so far." She grinned. "And I'm proud to say that no one has ever bested me!" Lily extended a hand and Luka took it.

"I'm Luka. Megurine Luka. Erm, I'm not exactly sure how I got this spot.."

"Princess Miku took an interest in her!" Rin interrupted and Len nodded violently.

"Is that so?" Lily tapped her chin. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. You have absolutely no sword training, do you?"

Luka shook her head, and looked around. Many different weapons – spears, swords, daggers, maces, were all hung up on the wall, or just lying in a heap. She noted how Lily's sword, resting in a sheath at her hip, was different from the rest.

"Oh, this sword? Yeah, everyone usually gets the typical normal sword but once you become a captain, or a _bodyguard_," She winked at Luka, who was embarrassed at being caught, "You can get the smithy to craft a new weapon for you. Sometimes arms dealers make their way here, from other lands. I got this sword as a gift for being the top fighter here." Lily boasted, and dropped the wooden sword in favour of the Kriegschwert.

"They said it's a German sword. Wherever that is." She gripped the hilt and swung down diagonally, smiling. "Anyways, you'll have to train before you even get a weapon. Shall we start?" She tossed Luka a wooden sword similar to the one she was practicing with before.

"Ahaha, have fun, Luka! We'll pick you up in two hours' time!" Rin waved and Len pushed her out of the room.

"Wait, can you tell me more about the different divisions before we start? The guards and all." Luka asked hesitantly, and Lily's eyes widened.

"Well, I suppose it'll be useful to know the various ranks and abilities…Here!" She grabbed a long roll of paper that was a little torn, and showed Luka a map of what was beyond the wall.

"Alright, so here, we have the castle, surrounded by an inner wall. That's where my division and the other divisions come in. We have the rangers, who use bows. That's the third division, those who guard the palace grounds; the second division, and those who guard those staying _in_ the palace. The first division basically patrols round. They're actually a bunch of incompetent lazy sacks. They used to be the best cadets but obviously their skills have dropped." Lily rolled her eyes. "I was originally in the first division but I hated it. Anyways, there's the outer wall, and they have slightly less guards than the inner wall. But they have what we call ' experienced fighters', but they're just people who stalk those staying beyond the walls. They're like spies, but they abduct people too – I'm sorry!" Lily just realized what Luka had gone through, and Luka just shook her head.

" The nobles mainly stay outside the inner walls – They surround the castle, and here is the main dining hall, do remember it, it's where the Princess will be having her meals, and over here is the… the Arena, just outside the castle. The dump is just a little further from there. Oh yeah, some nobles, as well as some soldiers stay in the castle. Bodyguards, Captains of the inner walls, High-end nobles, you get the point. The rest stay…" Lily's finger pointed at a blank space near the castle, still in the inner walls. "Here!"

"What about this?" Luka's finger hovered above the map, not daring to soil it with her hands. Maybe she was cleaned and all, but Lily looked a great deal cleaner than her. The area she pointed to was still within the outer walls, but there was a sort of gate separating that from the nobles.

"That's where we get our food. There are farmers living there. Peasants, if you call them that. They are kinda secluded from where we are. Ah yes! There's a bunch of guards there too. But they're the ones who barely pass the recruitment tests."

Luka nodded, trying to remember. "Don't worry, they are easily recognizable. Just look at the armor they wear and the weapons they carry. Every Captain has a personalized weapon. I'm around the same rank as you so you don't have to bow to me too. Actually you don't have to bow to any soldier here. Oh yeah! Although we're called guards, we're actually trained for battle, you know, in case anything happens." Lily frowned, and Luka knew why. The last war raided many children of their parents, because the Crypton Kingdom had never prepared enough soldiers…

"Well, enough talk, let's get started." Lily tossed aside the map and gripped her wooden sword.

Luka imitated her, striking the same stance.

"No, move your right leg a little closer to you. And your grip's wrong."

Luka adjusted, feeling a burst of adrenaline at holding the weapon. Maybe it was because it was the first time having lessons like this. As Lily went through the basics, she wondered how long it would take her to become a suitable bodyguard.

* * *

"Whew, I'm tired, let's take a break!" Lily plopped herself down on the floor, discarding her wooden sword.

"So, how … well did I… do?" Luka managed to speak between gasps and pants, sitting down herself.

"You're actually pretty good, are you sure you haven't fought before? Your footwork's excellent, your reflexes are definitely better than most soldiers here, and you actually countered before I taught you to!" Lily patted Luka on the shoulder, and Luka smiled meekly. She probably had to work on her stamina, looking at how Lily was not out of breath and she was.

"It's definitely going to take a shorter time training you. Then we'll spar." Lily's eyes lit up at that thought. A knock broke the silence.

"Enter!"

Rin hopped in and Len followed her.

"What's this? We thought we left Luka here to train not to sit around and chat!" Len folded his arms.

"Yeah! When have you become so lazy, Lily? At this rate even I'll beat you one day!" Rin imitated her brother.

"Give us a break! We only just ended our practice!" Lily huffed and lay down.

"So, is Luka any good?" Len asked, reaching down to fiddle with the wooden swords.

"Better than you." Lily scoffed.

"Hahaha anyone's better than Len! Even I'm better than Len!" Rin laughed, and Len poked her with the sword.

"You guys train with Lily too?"

"Sometimes. They might seem like a bunch of foolish children but they're quick on their feet and work well with daggers. Weapons that suit their height."

"I'm not that short!" Len scowled and stuck his chest out, Rin standing as straight as possible.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don't you guys have to lead Luka somewhere?" Lily stood up and took back the wooden swords.

"Oh yeah, come on, Luka! We'll bring you to your room!"

Luka's stomach growled and everyone stared.

"We'll bring you to your room and get you some food!" Rin grabbed Luka's hand and practically dragged the exhausted, starving girl out of the room.

"T-thanks, Lily!"

"Anytime, see you around!"

Once again, Luka followed Len and Rin, but luckily the distance from the training room was much shorter than the previous trip. One flight of stairs and countless turns later, they arrived at a door, and the twins did a little bow before opening it.

"Welcome to your new room!" They cheered and Luka took a step in, her jaw slackening as she took in the spotless walls, the space of the room, the warmth, and the softness of the carpet below her feet. Which then reminded her that she had been walking barefoot all the time, and probably leaving dirty footprints everywhere. Part of her felt bad for doing so, and the other part wanted to stomp all over the castle just for the sake of it.

"Here, here!" Rin led Luka into the room, past a door, to reveal a bathroom with a bathing tub. Luka's eyes widened because the last time she had a bath was in autumn when the lake water (full of dirt and ash but cleaner than her) was not frozen over, and that was in a public lake for heaven's sake. She had never had such privacy before, of the comfort of a tub that was long enough for her to stretch in.

"You see this little bell here? If you ring this bell, servants will come and refill your water for you. Usually it's warm water but if you want cold water in the summer, you can ask for it. "You should take a bath." She pulled the rope attached to the bell before Luka could protest, and almost at once, two servants arrived with kettles of hot water and cold water, pouring them into the tub. They bowed to the three other people higher in rank than them and exited.

"Well, that's nice and warm. I'll get Len to get you your new clothes. LEN! CLOTHES!" Rin screamed. "Do you want some food? If you want food, ring the bell over at the table near your bed once. If you require assistance, you can ring the bell twice. A messenger will come over. He'll be dressed in blue. The servants are usually in grey, but those who serve food are in a dull yellow. Oh if it's an emergency just ring like mad. It's connected to Len and my room so we'll come over."

Luka took a moment to process all of that and finally nodded. "I'd like some food please."

"Coming right up!" Rin disappeared and Luka heard a faint tinkle before Rin burst back in.

"Aren't you going to bathe?" Luka blushed at Rin's boldness, but striped anyway and soaked herself in the warm water, uncomfortable with how pleasant it was. It was freezing outside, and the warm water and the warm room felt too comfortable to be real. The bruises from the short training session told her otherwise. Still, Luka pinched herself and winced. She reached for the soap lying on a shelf above her, and Len entered the room.

"I'm ba-gah! RIN! CLOSE THE DAMN DOOR!" Len shouted, flushing furiously as he turned around, and Rin giggled.

"I'm sorry, brother dearest, I forgot you weren't a girl, your scream had me fooled there!"

Luka sank under the water and blew bubbles.

Once Len had recovered from his embarrassment and passed the clothes to Rin before receiving the servants who had come with the food, Luka stepped out and toweled herself dry.

"Here are your new clothes!" Rin grinned, passing Luka a bundle.

The clothes were new and felt heavenly to Luka. For years, she had worn hand-me-downs and old clothes gathered from what was left of the previously prosperous city. As she shrugged on the thick black pants, which were well fitting and snug, Rin continued to talk.

"Since you're the bodyguard, you can't wear skirts. So we'll have to burn your old one, no complaints?"

Luka shook her head as she wore her shirt, a simple white long sleeved reached for her jacket, which was black and had red around the sleeves and collar, trailing down the buttons.

"Tuck in your shirt but not the jacket." Rin said, eyeing Luka.

Luka did as she was told, and was handed a pair of shoes, also black with red.

"These shoes are designed so that you can sneak around with minimal sound." Luka raised an eyebrow at the description, but put them on anyways.

"Very nice. Oh, here, you might want to pull your hair up in a ponytail. It's kinda long, won't it get in the way?" Luka was about to comment about Lily's loose hair but bit her tongue and took the hair tie from Rin.

"She's done!" Rin announced, and Len strode in, a piece of bread in his mouth.

"LEN! Did you eat Luka's food?" Rin gasped.

"I only took a piece of bread! I'm a growing kid!" Len defended, and Luka shook her head.

"They're all growing kids, yet most of them don't get enough food.." She walked out without a word, looking for bread or something. What she saw shocked her, and she wasn't sure how many more surprises she could take. A large plate was sitting on a tray, filled with ham, some cheese, bread, sausages, some chicken meat. Beside it were a bowl of fruits, a bowl of soup, and a cup of warm milk. This amount would have been able to feed the whole group back there! And they could probably make it last at least two days! Luka bit her lip and grabbed an apple.

"You might want to eat more than that. There's going to be more training later. Then you'll meet Miku." Len said, finishing the last of the bread.

"Is this dinner?" Luka asked, and Rin shook her head.

"This is just you know, when you get hungry, and the servants just bring food up. You can ask them to bring certain foods and certain amounts but they don't know what you prefer now. Dinner will be after your training. We'll bring you to the dining hall that isn't meant for large occasions. It's not the one outside the castle, it's inside the castle." Rin explained, and Luka sighed.

"Now I know why there's a mountain of trash…"

Len and RIn said nothing, fidgeting nervously.

"That's just the trash from the castle, you know? The trash from the nobles and the peasants get disposed of; recycled for the pigs and all." Len added quietly.

Luka tried to breathe normally. Even pigs ate better than the humans outside the walls. She felt like throwing up. The bit of apple in her mouth felt disgusting all of a sudden. Her stomach cried for food but her heart cried with disgust.

'Be strong, Luka. Think of what you could do if you manage to uphold your spot.'

She swallowed the apple and reached for more food. It didn't feel right to have the privilege to eat these, but right now she needed energy and strength if she was going to prove her worth.

* * *

**End of chapter 3**

**Yeah, I'm not that familiar with swords so please forgive me if there are any mistakes. I did search up a little on swords, so there's Lily's weapon. I haven't quite decided on Luka's weapon – to give her a katana, or a sword like Lily's? If you have any suggestions, do let me know too!**

**Anyways Miku's going to appear in the next chapter, so fret not! **

**Till the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author: Surprise surprise, two updates in a week~ I tweaked their ages here, so Miku's a little older and Luka's a little younger.  
I have also been rather inspired by other fics, particularly Sword and the Needle by Kailor Aurelius. I recommend checking out that fanfiction.**

**Well, let us begin!**

**Ice and Stone**

**Chapter 4**

Training with Lily had been tough. Luka had been repeating strikes, memorizing stances and positions, and had almost thrown down her wooden sword in frustration. Lily said that Luka was still physically weak and that she was progressing faster than she had initially expected. Lily seemed pleased, but Luka wasn't. This was all so frustrating and repetitive. She had to pause before striking so Lily could correct her stance, pause as she was swinging down so Lily could adjust her elbow, pause after she swung down because her arm was 'not aligned correctly'.

She was tired from stopping her movements, and Lily had sensed it, giving her a break, and telling her to be more patient. "No skill was ever acquired in a day. Don't get ahead of yourself, Luka."

She had bowed her head in shame and carried on reluctantly. All she wanted to do was raid the pantry and smuggle all the food out.

Now she went back for another bath; Lily had told her it was unacceptable to stink during meals. A similar set of clothes had been prepared, this time it was black with dark blue and Luka suspected the mystery designer was testing colours on her.

"Luka, are you ready? Let's go!" Rin knocked the door. Luka stepped out, tying her hair into a neat ponytail.

"Oh yeah, forgot to tell you something super important. Actually two things, but I'll tell you one after dinner." Rin pulled Luka along, and pointed at the door next to her room. "The Princess stays here, and opposite her is Len and my room!" Rin snickered at Luka's shocked face. "Now come on, we don't want you to be late."

* * *

Luka found herself almost getting lost as the energetic twins bounded down the stairs like rabbits and walked into a large dining hall. It was not crowded, and no one except the Princess and Lily were there. Lily was dressed in black and white, similar to Luka, and Miku was in a light blue dress that flowed to her ankles. Her hair, as usual, was let down and it reached past her lower back, almost touching the ground as she was sitting.

"You're late." Miku said, her eyes flickering to the three latecomers and back to her soup. She poked the bread beside it and looked back up to Luka, meeting her eyes. The twins greeted Miku formally, and Luka repeated their actions. Miku eyed Luka for a while, making the pink haired girl wary.

"Black suits you." Miku stated, and went back to staring at her food.

A few servants approached the twins and Luka, asking them politely what they would have.

"The usual!" Rin exclaimed and Len sighed. "You can't always have pancakes for dinner… The usual too."

Rin scowled. "I have orange slices as a side. You're no better yourself. Too many bananas and you'll become a monkey." Len scowled too, mirroring his sister, and the servant beside Luka waited patiently for her answer.

"I'll just take something simple…"

"Grilled chicken salad with a side of scrambled eggs?" the servant suggested, glancing at Miku, who looked at Luka.

"Y-yeah, thanks." The servants scuttled away, and Miku looked back at her soup, deciding to finally drink it.

"So, how did you find the castle, Luka?" Lily started, and Luka sighed.

"It's really comfortable and I'm lucky to be studying under you, but…" Luka thought of everyone else, and she thought of Gakupo. She thought of what Rin had said and probably went through. Maybe all she really wanted was to leave. It was scarier in here than it was out there. You were clothed, housed, fed, and bathed here but you also had to watch out for anything that could happen. Rin had told her which nobles to avoid; they would pick on anyone, and some spread malicious rumours that could get you killed. Luka could barely remember how to get from the training room to her room, not to mention all the faces and names.

"It's just overwhelming." Luka finished, and her salad arrived; something that was supposedly simple but still managed to look ridiculously expensive and luxurious. She slowly ate, not wanting to choke on her food although she was hungry. Actually she had never been so full, but her stomach cried out for more.

"You'll get used to it." Lily smiled reassuringly, and Luka failed to return one.

Miku waved to a servant who quickly went to her and bowed.

"How may I help you, your highness?"

"I want something sweet. No fruit, I don't feel like eating fruit. Do not get me chocolate either." The servant bowed and ran off into the kitchen. Miku glanced at Luka again, and her eyes seemed to smile slightly. Luka felt a rush of heat creep to her chest and face, and jerked back, stabbing a piece of chicken before hurriedly stuffing it into her mouth.

"Are you okay, Luka?" Rin asked, and Luka nodded before shoveling a spoonful of eggs into her mouth. She somehow managed that rather gracefully, and was grateful that she didn't choke.

The servant girl returned with a plate and a small cake on it. She greeted Miku again, and placed the plate before her. Miku scrutinized the cake and raised an eyebrow.

The servant girl seemed nervous, but Miku just took a dessert fork and slowly started to eat. The servant girl let out a breath of relief, and returned to her position.

Rin's pancakes arrived, with orange slices on a smaller plate. The girl devoured the pancakes with gusto, and her brother scoffed as he dug into one of his three sandwiches. A baked potato with some cheese sat beside it. Growing boy indeed.

"Chocolate and banana." He explained as he caught Luka's questioning gaze, digign into the sandwich with gusto.

Luka smiled to herself, thinking that it was funny how both twins felt that their diet that consisted of sweet food were acceptable as dinner. She did not notice Miku's persistant look as she smiled. She did not notice Miku placing her dessert fork down, until the soft clink was heard.

"I'm done. Bring her to my room later." Miku walked off without a word, the others in the dining hall bowing to her.

Once Miku left, and the servants seemed to visibly relax, Lily spoke again.

"Don't mind her, she's just really bad at expressing her emotions."

"She seemed angry." Luka remarked, and Lily raised her eyebrows.

"You could tell? No one usually is able to differentiate her moods. She always has that mask on." Lily said, finishing her meal.

"It's just a guess." Luka murmured.

"Jeez, tell me the answer tomorrow alright, I'm going to train my division and then head off to bed." Lily stood up and waved to the group, the servants also bowing to her.

"She's really nice." Luka blurted out and the twins grinned.

"Told you." Rin stuck her tongue out.

"She is like a sister, I've told you. She took care of Rin and I and made us learn how to defend ourselves." Len smiled fondly at the memory, the third chocolate and banana sandwich almost dropping halfway to his mouth.

"The princess… She's angry with me, isn't she?"

"I don't know, Luka. No one knows." Len said in a hushed whisper. "She was much more cheerful when she met us. She smiled. But she was younger too."

"How old is she, if you don't mind answering?"

"Well, I won't tell you her age, but I can give you clues. The princess met us seven years ago, when we were seven, and she's 4 years older than us."

"So… she's…"

"Ah ah ah, shh. Her birthday is in August, don't forget that." Rin cut Luka off.

"How old are you anyways, Luka?" the twins leaned forward and Luka finished her meal.

"It's kinda rude to ask a female for her age…" She trailed off, grinning. Somehow Luka found herself warming up to the twins. Their friendliness was rubbing off on her. They were so innocent and honest and childlike, and they felt trustable. Aside from Lily, they were the only people she could really trust for now. And yet she could not give them her absolute trust. But revealing her age? That should be alright.

"Come on, we'll answer any question you want." Len pleaded, and Rin did the same.

"Any question?"

"Any." The twins echoed.

Luka looked around, and the twins got the hint.

"We'll talk to you later. After you speak to the princess." Len nodded and led the way back to their rooms.

* * *

Miku sat in her room, idly tracing her finger along the word of her textbook. Her tutors had long been sentenced to death. By her, of course. They were utterly useless and she had done better on her own. She was not a genius, they were just idiots. The whole palace was full of idiots. Everyone following each other. Len and Rin entertained her; they were the first people to not treat her like she was someone too high to talk to. But then again, that was because they didn't know she was the princess yet. Lily was an interesting one, joining the military and beating up the soldiers who said she couldn't fight, eventually earning her right to be recognized as the top fighter. She also treated her like a proper human, not just a princess.

Then there was the newcomer. Megurine Luka. She was the first pathetic girl to shout at the nobles. It was amusing to see the faces of all those slobs shrivel in fear. She had to get knocked down by all of them, and actually fought back. The girl was something else, and she also looked pretty.

Miku snorted at her thoughts. Pretty _pathetic._

She was glad she only loaded five bullets though. Now she had a new plaything. This girl had met her eyes so many times, and there was clear defiance in them. This girl didn't look down. She wasn't afraid to meet her eyes. And she was flustered pretty easily.

Miku smirked. She would have her way with the girl. A knock broke her thoughts and she felt excitement bubbling in her.

"Come in." She said lazily, and watched as Luka was pushed in by Len and Rin.

"You two may go." She flicked her hand at them and they left without bowing.

"Luka." She spoke impassively, and Luka flinched.

"Come here, don't stand at the door, you buffoon." Luka meekly wandered over to where Miku was sitting.

* * *

**Luka's POV**

_What does she want now? Oh she's dressed in something less formal than what she wore just now. That blue dress really suited her though but she looks nice too. It's still a little too flouncy, does she really wear this to sleep?_

"Luka." I jumped a little, wondering if she could read thoughts.

_Maybe she could._

"Come here, don't stand at the door, you buffoon." Her cold tone almost made me wince.

_Ice cold, colder than the weather. It was warm in here, surely she would have melted. Oh hell she's sitting on a bed what does she want me to do? Sit with her?_

I walked over, refusing to join her.

"Fine, stand, whatever suits you." She didn't change her expression at all, and I was frustrated that she was not looking me in the eye. I couldn't even guess how she was feeling.

"How has the day treated you?" She asked, and I wasn't sure what she wanted.

_Was this a trick? If I repeated my answer at dinner, would she be contented? Surely she wouldn't just ask a question for the sake of it. She must want a different answer._

" I still need to get use to this place. I… t-thank you."

She looked up from her book and shot me a questioning stare.

"Erm, for … for" _not letting me die? Saving me? Allowing me to serve someone as amazing and beautiful and high ranked as you?_

"Do you always have to display your inadequate linguistic ability in front of me? You were doing so well when you were communicating with the others." She said in that ridiculous tone again, and darted her eyes back to the book.

_Is she mad? W- wait. She's jealous? That's how she feels, right? Oh my god, she's jealous. The stupid ice princess who indirectly killed my friend is jealous. She has emotions. Congratulations!_

"I'm just… I don't know the right words to say. I'm sorry. Thank you for saving my life." I managed to say, without stuttering and making a fool of myself this time. She seemed pleased, her eyes moving above the edge of her book to survey me.

"You're welcome. That guy. The purple haired one." I froze, and my anger returned.

"What was his relation to you?"

"He was my friend." _Whom you killed._

"That's all?"

_What do you mean 'that's all', you arrogant princess? No wonder you're so cold! I had a friend taken from me, and you go 'that's all'? Urgh! I want to hit you so badly now, especially after the slap you gave me!_

"He grew up with me and a few others, and we always sticked together. Even near death." I emphasized the word 'death', and Miku shut her book, making me flinch.

"I see. What do you intend to do?" Miku asked, staring right at me, and I felt nervous again.

"W-what do you mean?"

_Does she know of my plan to smuggle food? But I never told anyone!_

"His body." She tilted her head to one side. "I made sure no one touched it."

_She made sure? But why? Why does she even care? Wait, what am I going to do about Gakupo's body? He would want… He would want… _

"If it's possible, I would want his ashes to be scattered outside the walls." Miku's eyes widened slightly, and she regained her composure.

"I'll see if I can arrange for that. You know, you're pretty rude for a bodyguard." I tensed up, remembering how audacious I had been.

_Talking back to you? Yeah. Shit._

"Keep it that way. I like you as it is now." She smiled a little, and to my horror, I found myself blushing.

_You! She said you! Referring to me! What the hell? And she smiled, damnit she looks beautiful smiling. Did I make her smile? Argh! What am I doing? Why? Why does she attract me so? Okay, maybe she's not as heartless as she appears to be, a little devoid of facial emotions, but she does care. Whoa when did she come here?_

I had lost myself in my thoughts, and realized that Miku had been slowly sneaking closer to me. She was a little shorter than me, and she looked up with an uncaring expression.

I backed away slightly, but she kept a firm hand around my waist, making me even more flustered.

"And Luka?"

"Y-yeah?" I replied, disgusted with how hoarse I sounded.

"Call me Miku in private." She whispered and tip-toed, pausing.

"A-ah?" I managed to squeak out before she pressed her lips to mine, silencing me.

She broke the kiss for air, and I wondered how long I had stood there like a moron. Of course I had kissed back but everything was so – weird.

"You're not bad." She licked her lips, her annoying unchanging expression still plastered onto her face, and her eyes looked up at me again.

_Contentment? Was that it? Pleasure? I can't really tell._

She released her hold on me and I wondered when I had placed my hand on the back of her head. I whipped my hand back and tried to breathe.

_I just kissed the princess. No, wait, she kissed me. Does that even matter? What is going on? _

"You're not allowed to be involved with any of the twins or Lily." She spoke again, now further from me. "Or I will kill both parties involved." That dangerous tone that was not concealed by anything warned me how frightening this princess could really be.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Yes who?" She stared at me with impatient eyes.

"Yes, your highness."

"Did you already forget my order? Did the kiss affect you so much? Need I kiss you again to reverse the effect?" Miku stepped forward and I lost my ability to speak coherently. I shook my head but that was not enough for her.

"Y-yes Miku." I murmured, unable to look her in the eye.

"Good job." She reached for my jaw and grabbed my face down to her eye level.

"Don't forget that you're mine." She hissed and planted a fast, violent kiss on my lips, biting them, before pushing me away this time.

_What's with her and kissing? Is this… blood?! SHE BIT ME! How dare she bite me! First she acts all nice and sweet, albeit being seductive, and then she turns violent without warning! What is wrong with this girl? _

She gave me one last stare before turning, her back facing me.

"Out." She commanded, and I nodded, unlocking the door before backing out.

* * *

**End of chapter 4**

**Ahaha it happens. Finally some negitoro. **

**Miku's quite a bitch now but …. Oh well I can't promise anything. **

**Heh, thanks for reading, please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Merry christmas, everyone! For those who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you enjoy this holiday! Here's my Christmas present to all of you (laughs nervously), I actually intended to do a one-shot earlier on but writing a story just after you finish your paper at 5am in the morning isn't a really good idea.**

**Anyways, here's a new chapter of Ice and Stone! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Ice and Stone**

**Chapter 5**

Luka stepped out of the room and the door nearly slammed shut. She licked her lips, wincing at the cut that Miku had given her. Some of the blood had dribbled down her chin and stained her shirt, and she wondered how many times she had to change clothes. She was still puzzled over what the heiress had done.

"She kissed me…" Luka muttered to herself, blushing at the thought. It was her first kiss, if you don't count that one time accident when she slipped and crashed against Gakupo. Their teeth had clashed and it was more painful than it was awkward.

Gakupo.

Right, Miku had agreed to Gakupo's… ceremony. Which was strange now that she looked back on it. Why would the princess, one of the elites, care for a fallen untouchable like Gakupo? Why would the princess, someone who could have anything she wanted, kiss someone like her?

Luka didn't have time to think more because she was already outside her room, a cold hand grasping the doorknob.

She had forgotten to take out her key, but out of habit, found herself turning the door knob. It opened, and she raised an eyebrow. Perhaps she would have to put whatever Lily taught her to good use.

She cautiously stepped in, and was tackled by two blurs.

"Surprise, Luka!" Len cheered softly, and quickly shut the door behind them.

"How did you get in my room?" Luka demanded, and the twins giggled.

"That was the second important thing we were going to – HEY! What happened to your lip?" Rin asked, peering at Luka's injury.

"I-I'll tell you later! Come on, how did you guys get into my room?"

Len grinned and led Luka to a mirror at the side of the room. He released a latch at the side of the mirror, and pushed the mirror to the left, revealing a tunnel.

"You sneaky brats." Luka muttered, and followed the amused twins into the tunnel.

Torches were lit up along the way, and Luka realized that it was a great deal warmer in here.

"Okay!" Rin stopped at a crossroads of some sort.

"There," She pointed to her left, "is where Len and I stay! Opposite you is Miku's room. She hardly uses this secret passage though, and she'll get annoyed if you enter without permission. On the right is a shortcut to the first floor of the palace! Don't use it during the daytime though, too many people around, and they'll wonder how you got there so quickly. There's more but we'll show you next time, don't just go in and enter any room, okay?" Rin pulled Luka past the tunnel, and stepped out of the entrance, Len following behind, covering all traces that there was a secret entrance.

"No one but us, Miku, and Lily know of this passage." Len boasted, and whispered softly, "If you tell anyone, you'll die."

"He's not kidding." Rin added.

"How was this passageway even built?" Luka asked, licking her lips and regretting it immediately.

"Dunno, it was here when we came. Spill, what happened to your lips?"

Luka sighed, a little embarrassed to recount her tale.

"Miku bit me."

"Hahahaha- wait, what?" Rin exclaimed, and Len frowned.

"If she bit your lip, doesn't that mean that you guys…?"

"Kissed?" Rin completed, and Luka smacked her own forehead.

"Yeah. Why'd she do that?" Luka groaned, and the twins looked at each other.

"Luka, about Miku, she, she doesn't really like guys." Rin whispered, and Luka cocked her head to the side.

"So?"

"You dunderhead, it means that she _likes girls!_" Rin hissed, and Luka's face went through a mix of emotions. Surprise, shock, disbelief, understanding, and surprise again.

Rin and Len were glad not to see rage or disgust on Luka's face.

"Wait, how'd you two know?" Luka eyed Rin suspiciously, and Rin snorted.

"Her ex was this girl called Ia, who was later sentenced to death by Miku herself. She found the servant cheating on her with another guy. That guy also died." Len replied.

"They weren't really together anyways, Miku probably didn't really think of Ia as much. Do not mention her name in front of Miku anyways, Miku will blow her top."

"Actually, Luka…" Len started, and looked at his sister, who shrugged. "You kinda look like Ia."

* * *

Meiko ran to the side of the wall, gasping for air. Gumi had asked to join her, but Meiko refused, making sure the green haired girl stayed to protect the other children. Now that Gakupo and Luka were gone, she had to take charge.

And she had plans to tear down the entire wall and kill everyone who stayed in there. For too long they had picked on them. For too long they had mercilessly hunted innocents. For too long they had ignored the plight of the citizens.

She found the hole easily, and this time, she started digging. The snow would fall, but it would not block the entrance. The soil was hard and covered with a layer of frost. Beside her was a lid, as big as a manhole. She intended to dig a tunnel to the trash mountain first, so that she won't get shot at. The snow would provide a perfect cover, and she would place the lid on top of the tunnel. The snow that fell would cover the tunnel, but she would know where the entrance was.

She started digging.

* * *

Luka lay in her bed, after another warm bath. The cut had healed slightly, the bleeding stopped.

She wondered if that was her fate too, to become the princess's new plaything. Not even a week in, and she was going mad. The princess had forced her into a kiss (not that she was complaining), and bit her after that. She had also claimed Luka as 'her own', and Luka growled uneasily at that. She was her own master. She didn't need to be collared like some dog.

Amidst all her complaints, Luka couldn't deny how soft the princess's lips were, and she couldn't deny that she actually liked the kiss.

She was growing soft, and it sickened her. The princess was playing with her, and making her annoyingly vulnerable. She would soon forget her plan and be wrapped around Miku's finger, and maybe she would get discarded too.

It was a long day ahead, and Luka decided to sleep, determined to put all her frustration in training afterwards.

* * *

Miku woke up, annoyed at the weak beam of light streaming into her window. She peered out, noting the incessant snowfall. Winter had not arrived for a year, and when it did, it arrived at what was supposed to be the end of winter. January was an unlikely time for snow to _start_ falling. She wondered what Christmas would have been like if Luka was there. She wondered if Luka had ever celebrated Christmas. January the twenty-sixth. It was an excellent day, if one month late, to give Luka a present. She smirked, remembering the previous night. The stunned look on Luka's face, her slight blush.

It was fun to have servants like these. It was fun to play with them.

* * *

Luka stepped into the dining room, noting that Lily was already there, as usual. Maybe there was a secret passageway to the dining room? That would be nice. Luka's stomach was begging for more food. Previously she had no problem starving, but since she had been fed enough, her appetite had been revived. Maybe the training was also taking a toll on her.

Was she even the bodyguard of Miku? So far she had done nothing.

"Morning." Lily waved at the pink haired girl, tucking into her oatmeal.

"What would you like to have, Guard of Honour?"

Luka shot a questioning look to Lily.

"That's your title. Honoured bodyguard, guard of honour, eh?"

"I'll have … some bread, please."

"Plain bread?" The servant asked, and Luka nodded.

"Give her some milk too." Lily added, and the servant bowed and left for the kitchen.

"You can't eat bread without drinking anything." Lily said, and the twins marched in.

"Oh! Luka! You're early!"

"Morning you two." Luka waved at them, and Lily managed a lazy swing of her arm.

"I'll have scrambled eggs, beans, and a hashbrown." Len told the servant who had returned. "And a banana."

"I'll have orange juice and whatever Len's having." Rin said, sitting beside Lily. Luka was seated opposite of Lily, and no one else sat beside her.

"Oh yeah, what exactly is my role as a bodyguard?" Luka spoke in a soft and quiet tone, afraid that the other servants would judge her for her ignorance.

Lily choked on her oatmeal and glared at the twins, who shrugged sheepishly.

"I suppose the two idiots forgot to tell you. And you're quite the fool yourself for not clarifying that early." Lily massaged her temples , and Luka bowed her head.

"Well, there's actually nothing much, you escort the princess when she's out on trips, or when there are events like formal dining. There are etiquettes and unspoken rules you have to follow. I'll give you a lesson on it later. Oh yes, you get free time when you're not doing anything, so you can train or do whatever. When the princess calls for you, you're to go to."

"When she calls for me?" Lily turned to Len and Rin again, who turned away and evaded her stern look.

"Great, you tell her about the bells and all but you miss one important thing." Lily turned back to Luka. "When you hear a bell, it's probably the princess. After all, no one but you can ring the bells in your room. The bell that will be rung will be different. I'm sure the princess wouldn't mind trying it out." Lily suggested, and Luka wanted to protest. But she had no right to do so.

She felt someone approach, and stiffened as she heard the servants.

"Your Highness."

She turned around and bowed along with the rest of the room.

"Scones with butter and a bowl of leek soup." She ordered as she took her seat beside Luka, shifting her chair closer to the frightened pink haired girl.

"Luka." Miku started and the pink haired steeled her nerves so she wouldn't jump. Her lip still hurt, and she ran her tongue along the healing cut.

The twins shared a collective look and glanced at the two girls. Lily, who was blissfully oblivious, continued to eat.

"Keep your evening free." Miku merely said and acknowledged the servants as they served her.

"Yes, Princess." Luka mumbled and dug into her plain bread. Lily was right. You definitely needed to wash down this crummy stuff with some liquid. Maybe she would request for butter next time.

"Well, I'm done here. I suppose I'll see you in the training room, Luka?" Lily asked, and Luka nodded. The blonde captain bowed to Miku and left the dining hall.

Luka quickly finished her simple breakfast and left hurriedly, not noticing Miku's lingering eyes on her.

* * *

"You're getting better at defending." Lily grinned. "With enough practice, you'll probably be able to spar with me in less than a week's time. You're really talented, but don't let that get to your head."

"Thanks." Luka smiled back, glad that she was no longer panting after a session. She had been training non-stop with Lily, running laps, doing practice swinging, and working every muscle in her body.

"If you don't mind me asking, do you remember what your parents did in the past? Maybe you had some sort of training…"

"It happened so long ago, I'm not really sure. 10 years is a long time. I remember that my mother stayed at home… My father, I'm not that sure."

"Ah, right, Rin and Len told me how old you are now. You were only 9 when it happened…" Lily sighed.

"What about you, Lily?" Luka asked, surprising herself.

"Me?" Lily let out a loud laugh. "I was a peasant, but there was a blacksmith there, and I ended up stealing his swords to play with a lot. I grew up in the walls, but I did accompany Miku out of the walls before." Her face looked grim as she ended, but then she stood up and stretched.

"I suppose Miku would want to see you any time now."

"But- dinner?" Luka asked, feeling stupid for prioritizing food.

"You can get food in your room, remember? Most here do that. That's why the dining room is always almost empty. Miku just doesn't like servants entering her room for reasons other than filling her bath."

"Right. I'll go now, thanks for the training!" Luka bowed, and Lily waved.

* * *

A warm bath and a change of clothes later, Luka paced her room nervously. Was she to go to Miku's room, or would Miku call her? And how would she go? Via the tunnel or the normal door?

"Rin and Len said that I would know, but damnit, as usual, I forgot to ask them the more important questions!" She cursed and paced around even more.

A tinkling was soon heard, softer than the bells Luka used to summon the servants. She tried to follow the sound of the tinkling, and found it near the mirror.

"I suppose I'll go by here." She mused, and released the latch, sliding the mirror to one side like how Len had done the night before. She slid it back and found herself in the tunnel again.

"Opposite me." Luka mumbled to herself, and walked in a straight line, going down some stairs, then reaching the crossroad. Across her was another flight of steps, and Luka sighed, pinching her nosebridge as she advanced. A door stood there, a handle ready for Luka to pull.

The door slid open as Luka touched it.

"You should move faster. What if I was in danger?" Miku deadpanned, her eyes burning a hole in Luka's.

"I'm sorry,pr- Miku." Luka bowed, and entered the room.

She didn't quite get a proper look at the princess's room before, but now that she had the luxury to look around she noted the lite blue wallpaper, and the comfortable looking bed. A table with a book on it sat not far from the bed. A large closet towered in a corner, and a series of bell ropes hung near the bed. A mirror adorned the other end of the room.

"At least you made your way here. If I ring this bell, you have to come by the main door." Miku pulled the bell, and a louder chime was heard.

Luka nodded, suddenly aware of how close and alone the both of them were. Miku did not miss Luka's change of mood, and moved closer to the pink haired girl.

"Tell me, Luka, have you celebrated Christmas?"

"No, not for a long time." Luka replied, getting uncomfortable as the princess pressed herself against her.

"Do you know what date it is today?"

"Er.." Luka's eyes scanned the room, and found a calendar on the wall. "The twenty sixth of January?"

"Excellent. A whole day since boxing day. The day when you unwrap your gifts." Luka couldn't help but notice that Miku's dressing would be quite easily unwrapped.

Miku leaned closer to Luka, her mouth blowing cold air on her throat. Luka shivered, and Miku ran her tongue along her jugular.

"I've got a present for you, Luka." Miku whispered into Luka's hear, and kissed her bodyguard's throat hotly, inching down near the collar bone.

Luka was breathing in short gasps, greatly embarrassed at her vulnerability, but also unable to fight back. Inside her, a small part admitted that this was enjoyable.

'_In a sick, demented way'_ Luka thought, and let out an audible gasp of surprise as Miku sucked on her skin, biting it gently. The heiress and smirked against Luka's neck, kissing the spot tenderly.

"Look at yourself in the mirror, Luka."

Luka forced herself to walk towards the mirror, and found her collar tugged down slightly, a visible red mark standing out from her pale skin near her collarbone.

"You can return a gift next Christmas. Or on Valentine's." Miku cupped the orphan's face, tilting it towards her.

"Or even now." Miku's eyes screamed at Luka to accept the challenge, and Luka faltered. Why would she want to kiss the princess, or even, or –

Her face lit up and Miku smiled. Miku smiled in front of her.

"You don't have to feel pressured." She bent closer to the flustered girl.

Luka growled and pinned Miku to the wall, a sudden wave of anger overtaking her. She noticed the Heiress's expression change for a second to that of shock, and felt pleased.

"Here's your damn present!" She spoke huskily and kissed Miku hard, leaving the princess gasping for air. Guess all that stamina training did pay off.

As if suddenly realizing what she had done, Luka released her grip on the princess and bowed, hastily exiting through the tunnel.

_Oh my god what did I just do?_

She stormed up the stairs to her room, closing the entrance and making sure her overheated face returned to normal, before pulling up her collar and ringing the bell for food.

* * *

**End of chapter 5**

**Ahahaha. Not Christmas in the story, but it's kinda there (what am I saying).**

**Anyways, I'd like to thank all my readers (again) for their support in all my stories! I might not be able to write anymore this year, so I'll see you guys in January hopefully!**

**Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**

**-Stealyourfood**


	6. Chapter 6

**A: Oops my friend told me I was bordering on the edge ot T and stepping into M-rated fics. I'll try not to go overboard. But thank you all for your kind reviews**

**Lucy13FT: **I'm afraid we won't see Miku's reaction to what happened in chapter 5 but..

**Ah well let's just find out, shall we?**

* * *

**Ice and stone 6**

* * *

Luka had trouble sleeping that night. And when she managed to fall asleep, she dreamt of the princess.

In her dream, Miku was leading her around, a surprisingly out-of-character smile on her lips as she held her hand. Then alarms sounded, bells chimed everywhere, and they started running, not before a crowd smashed into them, everyone headed in different directions, and her fingers ached to bring the princess into a firm hug, but people just kept pushing them further, until Miku screamed out Luka's name, tears running down her face, and their fingers lost contact.

Luka woke up, sweat sticking to her skin, and a lone tear sneaking down her cheek. She didn't know why, but she felt extremely scared. More scared than when she had a pistol to her head.

It was barely dawn, but Luka got up, wondering if the servants would be awake and ready to fill her bath.

She decided against doing anything, and sighed, sitting and waiting for morning to come.

* * *

_One week later_

"You're going to end up beating me one day." Lily swung her sword down, and Luka deflected it. She had long dropped the wooden swords, and had sparred with metal ones instead. It took time to get used to the weight, but there was more thrill in swinging around steel and hearing a strong clash instead of the dull thwack of wood.

"What? Not now?" Luka countered, and slashed horizontally, making Lily jump back.

"Don't get cheeky, you little-" Lily brought her sword up as Luka spun, driving her sword down.

"You guys busy?" Rin peeked from the entrance, and both warriors stopped fighting.

"What is it, Rin?" Lily asked, wiping her sword carefully.

"Apparently there's going to be a dinner tomorrow. It's going to be Luka's first event so the princess wants her to be prepared. I know you've taught her about dining rules blah blah, but just in case." Rin ran off to do her own chores, and Lily sighed.

"Well, can't possibly leave out the boring parts." She sheathed her Kriegschwert, and noticed Luka looking at it adoringly.

"Sorry, but we can't get you a personal sword yet. Miku hasn't given permission. How is it going with the princess? Maybe if you can build a stronger bond, she'll do something."

Luka tensed up, remembering the last interaction she had with the princess. After Gakupo's cremation and ceremony, the princess had returned to her room, but called Luka in not long after that.

They had engaged in a rather fierce make out session, the princess seeming agitated over something. She had renewed the mark she had left on Luka previously, and pushed her out of the room again. Luka had barged in again, kissing Miku furiously, and Miku's fingers that had trailed up and down her sides reached for the bottom of her shirt, and she was about to pull it up when someone knocked on the door.

Luka had left hurriedly, and she caught a glimpse of the princess arranging her clothes before answering.

How was it going with Miku? She didn't know. Miku was always stoic and displayed nothing more than anger, amusement, and pleasure to her. She probably had feelings for Miku. There was a strange sensation everytime she saw the princess privately, when Miku's elegant mask seemed to crack a little. She had shared so many kisses with Miku, but she wasn't sure it what she actually felt. And whether the princess felt the same for her…

"I've been trying." She sighed, and Lily noticed her mood shifting.

"You might want to pull up your shirt." She mumbled, blushing a little, and Luka let out a little horrified scream when she noticed that the red mark on her collarbone was showing.

"I'm sorry!" She squealed and Lily scratched her head.

"So that's how it is, huh?"

"N-no, it's not-"

"This will go nowhere. Come, tell me what you remember from our previous lessons." Luka blinked, confused, and Lily scoffed. "Etiquette lessons."

"R-right." Luka took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"At the table, I will pull out Miku's chair for her, and push it in. I will stand behind her until the dinner is over. I won't be able to sit or eat, or make conversation with anyone. I am to look out for her safety at all times. When she leaves, I am to escort her."

Lily nodded approvingly. "You'll see a few nobles trying to hit on her or suck up to her. Don't get too possessive."

"I!" Luka growled, and turned towards the door. "I'm going to take a bath, thank you for the lesson!" She stomped out, and Lily's grin faded.

"I hope she's serious this time."

* * *

"That was embarrassing." Luka mumbled to herself as she sank into the warm water. She had not expected Lily to find out about Miku and her.

She frowned.

Miku and her?

Were they even together? Len did say that she looked like Miku's ex. MIku's ex who was also dead now. Maybe she was a rebound. Maybe Miku hated that girl so much she wanted to torture anyone who looked like her. Maybe Luka still loved that girl. With the teal haired girl, anything was possible.

Luka submerged her head below the tub, and blew bubbles before surfacing, and let out a muffled scream when she saw Miku before her.

"I rang." She said, and glanced at Luka, who growled and stepped out immediately, wrapping herself in a towel.

"What do you want, Miku?" Luka asked, trying not to panic. This was the first time the princess had entered her room, and the first time in three days they were alone.

The princess frowned. "There's an unpleasant guest tomorrow. Make sure I don't sit near him."

"Who exactly is this guest?" Luka licked her lips, and wanted to jump back in the warm water to escape the cold nipping at her ankles.

"Tonio Mendax. He's father's cousin."

Luka realized this was the first time Miku had spoken of her father, and it reminded her that the King, the cause of their plight, was in the castle, sitting around and enjoying good food.

And so was she.

"There're only a few nobles that I can stand being in the same space with." Miku carried on, moving out from the toilet, and Luka followed, grabbing a set of clothes.

"Kaito Shion is not concerned with the wealth surrounding him and he's quite a peculiar one." Miku said, her back facing Luka. Luka was frantically putting on her clothes, thankful that Miku was not watching her.

"He stays in the castle, and father has been trying to get us together." Luka yelped and tripped over her clothes.

Miku turned around immediately.

"Are you alright." She said, and it wasn't even a question. However, despite the usual coldness, Luka was taken aback by how fast the princess had reacted.

"I'm fine." She smiled, and the princess's mouth seemed to twitch a little before she spoke again.

"Neither of us intend on marrying each other. We're too different. I'm sure my cousin Ruko will be there as well. She is the heir to the Piapro Kingdom. You may address her as the Piapro Heir, and not Miss." She said, her eyes locked onto Luka's actions.

"I'll be seated beside my father, as usual. Do not forget that, Luka."

Luka struggled to button her shirt without fumbling, and nodded.

"Ruko's return will be more appreciated than Tonio's. Don't run into trouble with him. Ruko's fine, but Tonio is another case."

Luka nodded, and wondered if the princess would stop scrutinizing her. Miku's gaze was not of one of curiousity, it was something more, something dark coupled with want and pure desire. It frightened her, but it also served its purpose to excite her.

"Luka, Lily told me she saw something." Miku started, her glassy eyes locking onto Luka's shocked ones. "Something I don't think she should have seen."

Miku took a step forward, clutching Luka's collar. With desperation, Luka noted.

"How did she manage to see?" Miku unbuttoned Luka's collar,and Luka swallowed. Again, she was going to be used. While she wanted Miku badly, she knew nothing of her, except that she was a princess, and her eyes held more emotion than any part of her body. She did not know what she was to Miku; a plaything, a toy, a rebound, a _thing_?

She pushed Miku away, the anger and confusion in her finally spiking. She did not notice Miku's mouth opening in surprise and anger, or her eyes, expressing more than usual. She looked at the ground, too afraid to face Miku.

"What do you want from me?" It was an angry whisper, and when Luka received no response, she grabbed the princess by her collar, tears of frustration burning down her cheeks.

"Who am I to you?" She shouted, her fingers digging into skin and Miku flinched. Luka sobbed, angry at what she had done, angry at what Miku had done. Angry at everything.

"Who am I to you, Miku?"

Miku's mask was cracking, and she didn't like it. She cared so much more for this audacious bodyguard of hers who was so passionate and foolish. She didn't need to care for people below her. Even that servant girl, IA, was nothing compared to Luka. Luka was free. She had a mind, unlike the zombies in the castle. And because she had a mind, she was weak. But she was also dangerous. But now, she was dangerously weak. And Miku had no idea what to do. She had taught herself to express anger and want, but not any consolation of any kind. And now, this strange person she had slowly grown to care about was weeping in front of her, gripping onto her shirt, soiling it with her tears. Was she feeling pity?

Apart from that strange, unidentifiable emotion, she was partially angry at Luka too. She was hers, not Lily's. And they were so close. _Too_ close. She wanted to slap Luka, but she just couldn't. How could she ask her such an impossible question? Both of them wanted each other, although Luka was more obvious to show it. That night she surprised her... Miku could still remember the shock and pleasure from that night. Sadly Luka never tried that again. Passive, passive Luka. Passive Luka who was crying.

She was crying and Miku never saw her cry because of her.

And she had no idea what to do.

So she reacted the only way she knew how to.

Luka growled as Miku's lips met hers, pushing the princess away from her, watching with horror and satisfaction as she hit the carpeted floor.

"I don't want a distraction, I want an answer." She cried out, her throat raw and hurting. Miku stared impassively at her.

"Luka, you're…" Miku's tone softened, and she didn't seem like the high and mighty princess she was. She seemed like a defenseless child, and Luka forgot her anger for that moment.

Miku sighed, and her mask returned. "You're my bodyguard and escort. You're also mine." She stated, and Luka clenched her fists tightly.

"That's all you know to say. You're scared, aren't you? Of letting people know how you really feel." She watched Miku take another step to her, but her mouth remained tightly sealed. She wasn't going to get any answers out from her. She didn't know if she would ever get an answer. But she felt so tired, too tired to care.

"Please go." She murmured, and Miku saw that she was drained, and that it was pointless to stay. She could not do anything. She did not do anything useful.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She left the room and Luka.

* * *

"Luka!" Lily stepped into the room, nearly hit by a book.

"Luka! It's me!" Lily shouted, both disappointed and sad to see her student and friend in such a pathetic state. Luka had skipped dinner, and Miku was unusually quick to finish her dinner without any complaints. Rin and Len decided to try to speak to Miku, and Lily had decided to talk to Luka.

"Lily?" Luka looked up, her legs too numb to move. She had been sitting in that position for more than an hour, her tears long dried.

"You look terrible. What happened?" Lily folded her arms, demanding an answer.

"What does she want from me, Lily? Why does she treat me like that? Who am I to her?" Luka croaked out, exhausted, and Lily couldn't help but crouch down to hug Luka reassuringly. That was one thing about Miku, she had no idea how to offer comfort. Physical interactions were either to establish dominance or fulfill her wants. And what Luka needed was comfort. Security.

"Am I just another plaything?" Luka mumbled into Lily's shoulder, and the blonde just stroked her hair in silence.

Behind them, the passageway stood open, and Miku walked away, back to her room.

* * *

"I see." Miku said the moment she stepped back to her room, not trying to inject more life into her words. The twins fidgeted. They wanted Lily to get Luka to speak again, and for Miku to overhear whatever conversation, but whether it worked…

"Lily's very close to Luka." Miku said, and walked straight to her table.

"They do train together." Rin offered.

"Maybe I shouldn't have assigned Lily to her." Miku flipped open her book and reached for a quill.

"But Lily's the best fighter. And no other fighter can train Luka without looking down on her." Len said, and panicked when Miku slammed her book shut, not a single word written.

"Am I treating Luka so bad that she would rather be with Lily?" Miku asked, and Len relaxed a little. This side of Miku was rare, the side that actually cared about others. Whether it was a good thing or not remained to be seen

"It's not that you're treating her bad. She just isn't used to how you speak and all. She needs time." Len said, and Rin continued, "She needs more. She needs a different kind of touch."

"I don't know how to give that kind of touch." Miku sighed in frustration. "How do I do it?" Rin and Len shared a look, both surprised.

"Be softer, Miku, be softer." The twins chorused.

* * *

"Luka, I hope you're feeling better." Lily led Luka around. She had stayed until Luka felt good enough to ring up the servants for food. Then she returned to join Luka, and listened till the pink haired girl felt better.

"I am. I just hope I won't screw things up during the dinner."

"You won't, I have faith in you. Anyways, I'm bringing you around the castle to meet someone." Lily whistled cheerfully, leading Luka down to where the higher ranked nobles stayed. A guard positioned near the door nodded at them.

"How may I help you, ladies?" He grinned, one full of unbridled lust, and Lily sneered.

"Unless you want to get your head pounded in, you'd do best to inform Kaito that he has guests." Lily cracked her knuckles, and the guard paled, disappearing quickly.

"Quite the reputation, eh?" Luka teased, and Lily grinned, knowing that Luka indeed felt better.

"Oh hello, Lily." A blue haired man came from the corridor, the guard slinking behind him.

"Hello Kaito. This is Luka, the Princess's new bodyguard."

Luka observed the man, who was dressed in white and dark blue. He had a refined aura, and seemed much more pleasant than most men in the castle.

"Hello, I am Shion Kaito. It is nice to meet you." He simply bowed slightly, and Luka hurriedly bowed back.

"It is nice to meet you too."

"Well, we have guests, do we not?" Kaito walked ahead, seemingly eager to leave the guard alone.

"Yes, the Piapro heir and her two personal servants will be arriving soon. You have been tasked with welcoming them, am I right?"

"Yes. I wonder why Miku assigned me that task. Don't royals usually want a grand entrance?" Kaito asked, and Lily shrugged.

"The Piapro heir is different." She turned to Luka. "She's really one of a kind."

Luka nodded, and tried to remember why the name Kaito was so familiar.

"I've heard that she refused all marriage arrangements." Kaito smiled a little. "Just like our Princess. Hopefully the king stops trying to pair us together. I don't think I suit Miku."

Lily and Kaito turned around when Luka tripped.

* * *

**Luka's POV**

OH, Right. Kaito. Miku mentioned him. She also doesn't support the idea of them being together. Oh. Well this was awkward. This is Kaito. He seems nice enough but he's right, he doesn't suit Miku. Who does?

"I'm fine." I stand up. That was embarrassing, almost landing on my face. Lily is – is that woman laughing? She knows, doesn't she? Urgh!

"Come on, we have to welcome the Piapro Heir." Lily pats my back hard, and I almost stumble again.

We wind through the many stairs in the castle, and for the first time, I find myself out of the castle, heading towards the outer wall while I am still conscious. The snow seems to have lessened, but it has not shown any signs of stopping. I'm glad my uniform is thick enough to withstand –

BANG

"What's that?" I spin to the sound, somewhere behind the castle.

"Luka, let's get going." Kaito urges, and Lily grabs my arm.

BANG

"Luka. Please."

That sounds familiar. It's like the sound of-

BANG

A _gun._

"The Arena." I am horrified. I had spent days in the castle, and I almost forgotten how terrible it was there. How terrible it was outside the walls. How terrible it still _is_. They're playing again. They took a break and I forgot about it.

"Luka, we must go."

BANG

Four shots. Four people dead. How many more are still surviving outside? How many did they catch? How many will leave here? Will they be like me, before I was saved? Kicked and abused, left to die in the cold? Will they-

BANG

Five shots. Lily is dragging me, and Kaito is pushing me forward. Five shots. Who's pulling the trigger? Rin? Len?

Who made them do it?

There's a pause, an eerie silence, and I think all is fine. Kaito has stopped pushing me, and my feet are moving. Unsteadily, but I'm moving. Lily is talking, and I can't hear her. Was Meiko caught? Were there any people from my group in that dirty cell? Who survived?

Who-

BANG

* * *

**Author: Oh my gosh I finally wrote a new chapter. I hope it's not that confusing. School has officially started and I want to deliver two updates a month but I'm not sure how feasible that is now. This was a longer chapter and the others won't be as long as this, but I'll try.**

**Leave a review?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ice And Stone  
Chapter 7**

* * *

"What was that?" Luka asked, her eyes wild with fear. Lily and Kaito had also turned towards the Arena.

"Six shots…" Lily murmured, her eyes widening.

"Did Miku load it?" Luka remembered the announcement before her game.

"No. It can't be. She has never loaded all bullets before. She's not the one who loaded it." Kaito replied, but his voice sounded shaky.

"We should go." Lily grabbed Luka and walked on, Kaito catching up quickly.

As they walked to the walls to welcome the Piapro Heir, all three could not help but wonder what happened back there. The first Game in days and no mercy was given. Luka hoped no one she knew had been caught there.

* * *

"Your highness." Kaito and Lily in front bowed, and Luka followed their example, bending her stiff back to address the royal in front of her. She glanced up, seeing a long pair of legs in black leading past a blue coat to an handsome? face marked by a scowl. Two eyes, one red and one blue stared down at her. There was some resemblance, but this royal lacked the expressiveness in her eyes.

Her hair was tied up in two ponytails, and her loose bangs covered the top of her eyes. She was dressed in a blue coat, one decidedly darker than Miku's usual dressing. Behind her stood two servants, who were recovering from bowing. One had hair that curled like croissants, although they were in a strange shade of red. The second one was taller than the other, but not as tall as the Piapro heir, and her long white hair was tied up in a low ponytail.

"That took long enough." Ruko spoke, a voice that just made her actual gender all the more ambiguous. Luka however, was not paying full attention to anyone there. Her thoughts were still on the recent game, and the victims.

"I apologise for our tardiness. I am Shion Kaito, a noble residing in the castle." Kaito bowed again, and Ruko nodded.

"I'm Lily, just Lily. Captain of the Second Division on the Inner Wall Guards." Lily didn't bow, and Luka wondered if it was just Kaito.

"I…" Luka noticed Ruko's eyes staring straight into hers, as though she was trying to read her mind.

"I'm Luka. Megurine Luka, bodyguard and escort of the Princess of Crypton." She finished, delighted with her phrasing. Ruko's lips curled in a slight mocking smile.

"Of course. How did I not manage to recognize the one Miku had been writing about." Ruko smirked, and Luka's face lit up. "Heir to the Piapro Kingdom, that is me. Ruko Yokune. These are my personal servants, Teto,"

The red haired girl waved a little.

"And Haku."

The taller girl shuffled and nodded.

"Let us proceed." Ruko waved her hand for Kaito to lead them.

"So, I've heard that you escaped death." Ruko turned towards Luka. "Survived the games." Ruko spat out the last word with disdain.

"Yes."

"What do you think of the games?" Ruko asked boldly, and both Lily and Kaito froze temporarily, looking around for any guards who could be eavesdropping.

Luka frowned, wondering if this was a trick. Did Ruko want to hear her real answer, or was this testing the blind loyalty she was supposed to have?

"I have never seen the appeal of it." Luka murmured, hoping that was enough of an answer. Well, it was the only answer Ruko would squeeze out of her.

"I think it's bullshit, a pathetic display of power for those who hide behind their ill-gained wealth. Such a disgusting act should not be present in any developed, or developing country." Ruko sniffed, and Luka almost slipped on the ice beneath her shoes.

"Why, shocked that I have such a view?" Ruko asked, and without waiting for an answer, continued. "I'm not the only one. Crypton is tethering on the edge of acceptable…" Teto cleared her throat and Ruko turned towards her servant, nodding. "Let's hasten, it's annoyingly cold out here."

The whole journey continued in stony silence. Throughout the walk in the snow, Luka's head kept turning towards the Arena, something not unnoticed by the rest of the group.

* * *

"It's much warmer in here, isn't it?" Ruko drawled, and glanced at Luka. Luka suspected that Ruko was trying to get something out of her.

"We try our best." Lily said stiffly.

"Excellent. After reaching my room, I would like to meet my cousin."

"I will make sure of that." Lily said.

"Why are you the one in charge of this… and not her bodyguard?"

"Luka's kinda new, and the princess puts me in charge of a lot of things." Lily answered quickly, and Ruko seemed to accept that. "But Luka will guide you there. It is, after all, along the way."

Ruko smiled and turned to Luka.

"Well then. Teto, Haku, just bring my stuff to the room. I'll head up to my beloved cousin's room." Ruko looked expectantly at Luka. "Shall we go?"

Luka was not sure of what was about to happen. She looked at Lily for some help, but the blonde just shrugged. Without any other choice, Luka nodded, and Ruko seemed happy to follow the pink haired girl around.

* * *

Ruko had decided to flood Luka with several questions, including her age, her background, her life in the castle, her views on many things.

Luka had let slip that she held a grudge against the rulers for surrendering and allowing the enemy then to plunder and raze the other buildings and turn the Crypton Kingdom into the state it was in now. However, Ruko did not seem displeased with that.

Luka was not sure what the Piapro Heir was thinking. Indeed, she was Miku's cousin. The slight teasing, the impassive face, how distant and out of reach they seemed…

"Why do you think my cousin chose you?" Ruko asked, and hearing that question from an outsider just made it all the more worse. Ruko seemed to notice Luka's breath hitch, and added, "she must have seen something in you. She doesn't do things for no reason."

"I don't know what she sees in me." Luka admitted, fear sneaking up on her again, its bony fingers wrapping around her throat, slowly suffocating her.

"I understand that it's hard to talk to her, but please, be patient with her. She has spent enough time here to learn how to mind her words and appear uncaring. And because of that, she also can't really express herself properly."

The duo turned round a corner, and Luka made sure no one was present before speaking.

"She writes to you about me, right? If-if you don't mind, what… what does she say of me?" Luka asked, and realized how rude she must have sounded. Ruko stifled a laugh.

"Goodness, you're exactly like how she described you. Brash, rude, and forgetful of your rank. It is indeed refreshing, but I hope you remember your manners at the dinner. I'm sure what she writes to me is pretty personal and confidential, but let's just put it this way. You're someone very important to her, and she treasures you." Ruko smiled, and the fingers around Luka's throat retreated.

"A-ah, I'm sorry, and thank you!"

"Do you think she should continue to stay here, in this environment?" Ruko asked, but this time it was so soft, that even eavesdroppers might not have heard it.

"Pardon?"

"Ah, nevermind, I shouldn't have asked that." Ruko clammed up, and turned to another question immediately.

'Did I hear right? Did the Piapro Heir just…' Luka shook her head. It was impossible, wasn't it? Why would another royal pose such a strange and controversial question? She walked on, answering Ruko's questions as politely as she could, wishing that the corridor to Miku's room would just appear sooner.

* * *

_Len's POV_

Hi, I'm Len, servant of the princess of Crypton, Hatsune Miku. Normally I would be running around getting stuff that the princess wants. But today, the princess insisted that my sister and I stay in the room with her, at least until her cousin arrives.

Her cousin is a decent … person. Although she can be scary when you use female pronouns to address her. And I've been hoping to see Ruko again, she has the best gifts from Piapro. Also, we've been planning to-

"Miku, there's knocking, I think they're coming! Should we go?" my sister asks Miku, and I head for the secret door.

"Yes, please make yourselves scarce." Miku waves, and puts on her stupid mask again. She only is herself in private, with us, and.. Hmmm, is she herself with Luka? Who knows. She's really into Luka though, the hickey on Luka kinda confirms that.

Rin pushes me towards the doorway, and we disappear behind it.

"Alright, let's go." I sigh, and Rin pulls me back.

"Shhh! Let's try to listen in on their conversation!" Rin whispers, and we're so going to get into deep shit for this.

"We're gonna get caught and die."

"Not if we're quiet."

"Shh!"

"_Oh hey Miku my dearest beloved cousin!"_

"_It is nice to see you again, Ruko. Thank you, Luka. You may go."_

"Oh shit, Luka's here!" Rin mouths, and I attempt to force my lips into readable gestures.

"Luka's gonna be chased away. Miku's still not totally okay with her!" Rin takes a while, but she understands.

"_Aww, come on, let her stay. She's a nice sight for the eyes. And she's pretty interesting too."_

"Miku's gonna get jealous!" Yes Rin, we all know how easily jealous Miku gets, but this is RUKO we're talking about. She probably knows everything. And Miku knows that she knows everything.

"_Fine. Sit."_

"_It has been some time since I last visited. This time I'm staying for quite some time."_

"_I'm not interested in the reason, if that's what you're trying to ask."_

"_Boo, you're not any fun. Tell me, how long have the games continued?"_

"_Some time. Today…"_

"_Six people. I heard."_

"_First game since Luka was brought in. It was quite a fair occurrence previously. How father allows this to continue is a mystery."_

"_Ah. And I suppose no one outside the wall gets help, right, Luka?"_

"_No, none at all. If we want food, we'll have to find it ourselves."_

"_Good to see how Crypton is being consistent."_

Ruko's always so cool and sarcastic and she never gets caught for it. But why is she slowly bringing Luka into the conversation? Did Miku tell her about the great fight? But that was so recent, and mail takes some time. Oh well.

"_We're running on borrowed time and resources. If there's another attack, we'll barely survive, being such a small country."_

"_Your father is being like this because he's been cooped up here in this stupid fortress since forever. When has he last stepped out of the walls? And I mean beyond the farming district."_

"_Never."_

"_There we go. Nothing's going to change. Nothing will change unless something is done."_

"Oh my god we're totally going to have a rebellion!" Rin is beyond excited and that idea is actually quite appealing. Whatever Rin decides, I will go along with her. I have to protect her after all. And it's not like I love the castle life anyways. The food is definitely a plus but it's so terrible here.

"_What are you proposing?"_

Re-be-lli-on! Re-be-lli-on!" we start chanting. Oh yes, this is it, we're making it happen. Ruko, Luka, us, Miku, I don't know who else, but oh yes we're doing it!

"_Join the Piapro Kingdom, Miku."_

WHAT?

* * *

**Author: I'm back! BACCCK. would have liked this to be longer and more… I don't know, better. Hold on to your butts everyone, the next chapter will be up before February!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Dun Dun Dun. An update!**

**pseudoCalibrator: It's great to know that that was the effect the last line had! It's nice to be back too ! \o/**  
**Truna: I think you'll be happy to know that Ruko's going to stay for a while heheheheh**

**Thank you all, Lucy13FT, and One-x-Three for reviewing!  
I appreciate all your reviews, even though I might not reply to all of fill me with some sort of fuzziness and make me want to flip open my laptop and type out a few more sentences. Erm, anyways, here we go!**

* * *

**Ice And Stone Chapter 8**

* * *

"Join the Piapro Kingdom?" Luka gasped, and both royals turned to look at her.

"It is only logical." Ruko continued. "Join the Piapro kingdom, and leave Crypton to fall. Your safety will be ensured."

"Was this why you came?" Miku asked, and Ruko frowned.

"Partially. The other reason… I'm here to catch a thief."

"A thief?" Miku's eyes shimmered, and the conversation shifted.

"Mendax. The 'learned man'. He's quite famous for being an observant fellow, right? He went to the Hamaya Kingdom and made news for catching a thief there. The same happened when he went to the Nendo,Nico and Roid Kingdoms. Well, either he catches the thief or he plays the nice guy and pleads mercy for the thief. Everywhere he goes, there's some theft happening, and he solves it."

"What an awful coincidence." Luka muttered, and Ruko laughed.

"Indeed. Piapro does not work like the other kingdoms. A pure silver candlestick was missing, and the culprit, a boy working in the stables was caught. Mendax came over and asked us to spare the brat's life, weaving a touching verse to go along with it." Ruko snorted. "We put the boy behind bars first, until Mendax went away. We aren't fools, but we don't have the proof. The boy told us that Mendax entrusted the candlesticks to him, and promised him fifty coins for the service. The boy refused and Mendax threatened to kill him and his family. He could always claim the boy attacked him."

Ruko turned to Miku. "And I think Mendax will be up to his usual shenanigans again. Keep an eye out for him. We, at Piapro, treat everyone fairly, regardless of class, but I doubt Crypton is the same." She turned to Luka. "I suppose you'd agree."

Luka bit her tongue and looked at Miku, whose face was looking down at the carpet.

"Well, maybe you won't come along, so I'll just take Luka with me." Ruko grinned and tilted Luka's chin back, a hand snaking around her waist.

"How dare you!" Miku lashed out, and seemed to realize her sudden act of anger. "How dare you."

"Someone's possessive. But you don't even know what Luka's thinking. Making decisions for her, thinking she'll agree with you; what is she? A dog or a person?"

"That's enough!" Luka struggled and freed herself. "I'll stay! If Miku wants to stay, I'll stay. If she wants to go, I'll go!"

Miku's eyes widened, and Ruko smirked.

"There we have it. Nice to know what one thinks, isn't it? Favours are meant to be returned too. Good day." Ruko turned to leave.

"Oh yes." She turned around, and spoke in a slightly louder voice. "Rin and Len, I heard you. Nice try. I'm out of here." She strode out confidently.

"She's indeed an heir…" Luka mumbled. Ruko had made things better, in her own way, but now they were also awkward. Well, first thing first. She marched over to the secret door, and flung it open.

"You two brats." She glared at the twins, who did not even move from their place.

Miku peered from behind Luka, the closeness startling the latter. "If you leave now, I'll pretend I didn't see you two." The twins scrambled off, their discussion starting, the echoes filling the otherwise empty corridor.

"So… I treated you like a dog?" Miku asked, her breath growing hot on Luka's neck. She wished she had let down her hair instead of tying it up. Her neck was exposed and vulnerable. And cold.

"N-no. It's just that…" Luka sighed, and turned around.

"How could you just let Ruko touch you like that?" Miku growled, and pinned Luka to the wall, her hands pressed against the stone Luka was resting on. There was so much anger and confusion in her voice that Luka couldn't help but reach out to her face, cupping it gently. Miku seemed to enjoy the touch, but her hands remained where they were.

'She's scared I'll leave…' Luka grabbed the heiress's shoulders.

"You're mine, aren't you?" Miku whispered, and she sounded so broken. It was no longer a statement she used with confidence, it was a question, and it sounded scared to Luka. It was a plea to stay, not an enquiry.

"I'm not yours. I don't belong to anyone. But I'll go wherever you go. I'll stay with you, until my life runs out."

'Urgh Luka, that was so cheesy! Hopefully it worked.'

"Stay."

"I promise I will." No sooner than she said it, Luka wondered if she should have promised anything at all.

* * *

"Ah, Luka, there you are. We've escorted most of the guests." Lily stopped in front of the dazed bodyguard. "What's wrong with you?"

"Ah? No, I just realized that the Piapro Heir's really amazing. She got the princess to … I don't know what she did but Miku became more… emotional?" Some time had passed, but Luka was still awe struck by Ruko. Did it run in the family? The ability to stun others?

Lily tapped her chin. "I've heard that the Piapro Heir has the uncanny ability to get in touch with people's emotions, or something like that. Natural talent, I guess. But even the princess… That's a surprise. Anyways," Lily looked around, and bent to whisper, "I heard about Tonio Mendax. Kaito's keeping an eye on him. He looks like he's up to something."

"The princess wants to pay him a visit. I'll be accompanying her. I'll be on alert as well." Luka responded, pulling up her collar to her neck. It was stiff and incredibly uncomfortable, the fabric biting into her throat. Sadly, she had to wear it high and fully buttoned in front of all the royals who had streamed into the castle. This time, gold adorned the black, and Luka was wondering who the colour coordinator was. Gold was such an ugly colour, in her opinion. She liked blue more than any colour. And Miku seemed to like it too. Hopefully by her next bath, the colour would have returned to blue.

As she made her way up the stairs, she bumped into Rin and Len.

"Oof! Oi!"

"Luka!" Rin's voice rang out, chirpy and excited. "Meet the princess in the cellar, will you? She's gone a little ahead first and sent us to tell you. Let's go, let's go!"

"Rin, we can't go! We have errands!" Len rolled his eyes, and dragged his sister away. "Cellar, Luka! It's near the dining hall. The one for ceremonies!"

"Uh, okay." Luka watched the two blondes disappear behind a corner, and then trooped down the stairs herself.

"_I'll go wherever you go. I'll stay with you, until my life runs out."_ Luka smacked herself as she remembered her own embarrassing words. But Miku seemed so delicate and childlike then. A reckless promise seemed like the best thing to do. It wasn't totally reckless though, Luka would gladly stay with Miku. If she didn't have other worries. There was still Gumi, Yuuki, Piko, and Meiko. The four of them still needed food, and ever since that day, they were left with probably just Meiko to look for food. Gumi would probably join, regardless of how weak she was. The poor girl was not much of a runner, so she had been forced to stay back. But now with Gakupo and herself gone, Luka wondered if there was anything preventing Gumi from risking her life. The other two were just too young to do anything. Their mothers were pregnant with them at the time of the war, and passed away soon after giving birth to them, as though some balance between life and death was to be ensured. They were just 10 and it wasn't fair to be born in such circumstances.

She wanted to check the Arena, but there was probably no point now. She groaned, realizing she should have stopped the twins and ask them of those who were captured. Maybe later.

She followed the long, winding corridors stretched out all over the castle, and miraculously reached the dining hall without bumping into any unpleasant guests. She was curious as to how Tonio Mendax looked like. He sounded like a scoundrel and a conman. Maybe a few scars, beady eyes, and greasy hair? She reached the cellar door, and was not surprised to see Miku about to open it.

"M-Princess." Luka greeted, and offered her arm for Miku to hold. Miku did so, and nodded at the door.

"Kaito's in there." She said softly, and turned forward with cold, harsh eyes. Luka pushed the door open, and saw two figures in the dimly lit room.

"Ah, Princess!" A tall man with sharp features whirled around to face both girls. He spoke with each syllabus disconnected, as though they were individual words. His short brown hair was curly, and styled upwards at the back. He sported a neatly trimmed beard but his face was otherwise clean, no sideburns that ran down his jawline. He was dressed in white, not gaudy like most nobles, but expensive looking. His pure white coat that stretched to his calves swished around as he moved, and his poofy pants that reminded Luka of jesters were cut off where his long boots began.

'He looks like a moving snowman. I don't like his eyes.' Luka thought, and the slanted eyes turned to her.

"And you are?"

"Uncle Tonio." Miku greeted, out of necessary formality more than anything. She addressed him like how one would address an uninvited, unwanted stray dog that wandered over. "This is Luka, my bodyguard."

Kaito raised an eyebrow at how Miku emphasized the word 'my', but Tonio just bounced on his feet.

"Indeed. Pleasure to meet all of you. As I was telling Shion here, the silverware you have here is simply exquisite. Such detail and such quality…" Tonio snatched up a shiny silver plate, turning it around in his gloved hands.

"That's rather expensive. We prefer not to use it at all." Miku said, and as usual, her tone held no hint of her impatience.

"Ah, what a pity. So this hardly gets to see daylight?" Tonio set the plate down, and picked up an elegantly curved spoon.

"Hardly. They're kept safe here unless someone sneaks in to see it. No one ever comes here, not even the servants."

Luka looked at Miku, whose eyes were sparking with fierce agitation. Every possible signal Miku was sending to Tonio Mendax was telling him to leave. Not just the cellar, but the castle. Possibly the world. Luka wondered why Miku was so adverse to Tonio's presence, apart from the fact that he was probably a thief.

Tonio smiled gently, his eyes closed like a fox's. "Such harsh words. I'm sure you will take care of whatever's in the castle. You'll be a good ruler in time to come." He nodded a little, and put down whatever he was holding, reaching for a silver bowl with gold patterns running around it.

"Thank you. I'm sure you have to leave to prepare for the feast." Miku persisted, and Kaito shrugged behind Tonio's back.

"No hurry, Miku, some things need to be appreciated. Ah, this is a really valuable one, isn't it? How much did your father pay for it?" Tonio raised a goblet to the light source, turning it around.

"I'm sure it's an heirloom." Miku narrowed her eyes, and Tonio smiled.

"Even better, something that is priceless. Indeed, it is around time to get ready. I hope to see you there?" Tonio didn't wait for a reply, but bowed politely, backing out of the room. The door closed, and Miku waited a while before speaking.

"How long was he here, before you alerted me?" She asked Kaito, her hand still clutching onto Luka's arm.

"He asked me to bring him here. Erm, I'm pretty sure he has touched almost everything here. Another noble stumbled in here by accident, I'm sure he was looking for the kitchen, so I sent him back with a note."

"A noble from the castle?"

"No, just some noble. Decent clothing but he looked so lost, poor guy."

"The dinner will be held soon. Thank you Kaito, I'm sure you need to prepare yourself. Let us all go." Miku turned towards the door, and the three of them made their way back to their rooms.

* * *

As they reached the rooms, Miku turned towards Luka, her hand growing slack.

"This outfit… Gold is a good colour." She looked up and down, her eyes tracing Luka's figure, making the pink haired girl squirm a little. "Len and Rin did a good job this time."

"Len and Rin?" Luka gasped. Those two brats? They had designed her uniform? That was incredible. They only seemed capable of running around and playing pranks and eating pancakes.

"Of course. Who else would I entrust your clothes to?" Miku asked, as though this expected.

"Ah." Luka mumbled, and stared at her black shoes, happy that Miku thought so highly of her.

"I made the right decision asking them to prepare gold trimmings with your new uniform. See you in a while." She entered her room and closed the door right after her.

Luka watched the door close and realized that maybe she liked gold as well.

* * *

The bell rang, not the soft tinkling behind the mirror, so Luka got up and moved to her door. She had changed into a more formal outfit, A coat as long as Tonio Mendax's, except that this one was less swishy and a glorious black. It was meant to be buttoned up, starting from Luka's hips. Inside her coat was her usual uniform, except it was tighter and allowed for more action with less resistance. At her side hung a standard sword issued to all soldiers, except this was sharper and slightly shorter. She reached Miku's door and rapped it thrice. Miku opened the door, her hair braided and tied up in a bun. Rin poked her head out from behind the door.

"Nice, isn't it? I made the dress."

Luka held her breath as she glanced quickly at the rest of Miku's body. A long blue dress, slightly darker than the ones Miku wore, flowed down her body like a waterfall, not drawing emphasis to her curves, but accentuating them slightly. It was making her a little bothered, and she hoped she wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Beautiful." Luka let out, her eyes latched onto Miku's, and the princess's eyes danced with life and joy.

"You're not too shabby looking yourself. Rin, maybe you could give her boots that aren't totally black next time. Also, what an ugly sword. We'll see that you get a better one soon. Not now."

Rin nodded, and stepped out, dressed in a short yellow coat, a white shirt, and khaki trousers. Luka guessed that Len would be wearing almost the same outfit.

"Stop staring, let's go." Miku spoke, and grabbed Luka's arm, causing the latter to blush. They walked through the familiar path, portraits of dead dictators in unnaturally stiff poses judging them from the walls, the torches shining on their perfectly painted faces. The dining hall was not filled yet, but a few nobles were chatting there. The moment Miku arrived, they all stood up to greet her. Miku just walked on proudly, barely acknowledging their existence.

Miku turned her head towards a chair at the extreme end, just to the right of the king's seat. Luka repeated the steps in her head as she performed the actions.

Pull out chair. Let Miku sit. Push in. Stand back.

Lily arrived not long after, stationing herself close to Luka. More nobles trailed in, and Kaito took his seat opposite Miku. Ruko skipped in in a navy blue suit, and despite her childish appearance, she was treated with utmost respect, the murmurs of 'your highness' and 'Piapro Heir' filling the dining hall. The white haired servant, Haku, pulled her seat out. She slid into her seat beside Miku, who nodded at her.

Tonio Mendax swept in like a bat, still in his spotless white coat. He ditched his gloves for black ones, and was carrying a black cane with him. He seemed disappointed that the seats nearest to the king was taken, but plopped himself a fair distance from Kaito and the rest.

"The King arrives!" A messenger squealed, and the dining hall rose, save Miku, as King Leon strode in. Luka tried not to stare as he came her way.

Light blonde passed her, and his blue cloak swept behind. He swung himself into his seat, unperturbed by the many eyes on him.

"It's nice to see so many familiar faces." His eyes scanned over the great number of guests, stopping to pause at some. He seemed happy to see Tonio, who returned the joy.

"Bring in the wine!" He grinned. The servants dashed about, filling goblets with red liquid and stepping away as fast as they could.

"I propose a toast! To my cousin, Tonio Mendax! A well-learned man, a rising detective," Leon winked, "A real gentleman! To Tonio!"

The whole hall chorused, and once they downed their wine, Leon waved at the nearest servant, who scurried back to the kitchen, a group of kitchen staff serving dish after dish almost immediately. Heaps of food crowded the table, and Luka was hoping none of the food fell on the floor. What a waste that would be.

There were so many dishes Luka was sure she would be sick. How could they even eat so much? She watched soundlessly as a noble stuffed a whole steak in his mouth, and another finish a bowl of soup within seconds. Her initial hunger had been silenced by contempt. This wasn't a feast, or a refined dinner. It was like a pigsty. Only a few, including Tonio, Kaito, Ruko, and Miku were actually not trying to choke themselves. King Leon seemed to just enjoy watching the show before him.

Two servants dressed in blue discretely made their way to Miku and the King, bending to whisper in their ears. The king frowned instantly, and Luka noticed Miku clutch onto her spoon just a little tighter.

"My honoured guests, I have terrible news." Leon cleared his throat, and the cacophony died down. Everybody turned to the blonde ruler, who was no longer slouching.

"A theft has occurred. Some cutlery and a candleholder from the cellar has been found missing." Leon announced, and the hushed whispers started.

Luka glanced at Tonio, who had managed to look as shocked as the other guests. Miku had tilted her head, and Kaito had just turned towards Tonio.

"Ah, I see, Kaito wishes to seek Tonio's help on this matter?"

"No, your majesty, with all due respect, I believe…" Kaito stood up, shaking slightly. Out of excitement? Anger? Fear?

The king looked at him with anticipation, and although she could not see their faces, Luka was sure that Miku and Ruko were not impressed with Kaito's rashness.

"I believe that Tonio Mendax has come into possession of those items."

Everyone turned towards Tonio, who sighed, and stood up calmly.

"Are you accusing Tonio of theft? He is someone who has travelled the world, and gave up all wants! He does not covet such items!" Leon frowned, and Mendax shook his head.

"It's alright, cousin. Come, let us here what he has to say."

Leon nodded, and Kaito spoke.

"This afternoon, not that long ago, the Princess of Crypton, her bodyguard, and I were present with Tonio in the cellar, where the silverware was kept. Tonio had asked me to lead him to where the silverware was kept since he claimed to be interested in seeing the silverware of different kingdoms. He spent close to an hour examining every single piece there was in the cellar. An unhealthy amount of time and attention paid, if you ask me. He took an extreme interest in the silverware. I'm sure the Princess and her bodyguard can testify." He finished, satisfied.

"Is that true?" Leon looked at Miku, who nodded stiffly.

"Tonio did have an interest in the silverware. But that is all I'm certain of. My bodyguard and I did enter later." Miku looked back, her grip on her spoon growing a bit.

"And you?" Leon looked at Luka, who wanted to shrink and hide behind Lily. The ruler of Crypton, someone so mysterious and the cause of all her misery was looking at her, daring her to speak.

'Be brave, Luka! Be brave!'

"What the princess said, I agree with, your Majesty."

"What do you have to say-" Leon was interrupted when the doors opened with a loud clang. Tonio seemed to smile more as a servant stepped in, cowering a little.

"I-I come bearing n-news."

* * *

**Gahahaha another cliff hanger! Anyways I promised I would update before February. So here you are! :)**

**I hope this is satisfactory! Let me know what you think of the story so far?**


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